Sayings and expressions that start with the letter "S" from "Sacred cow" to "Sweetness and light"

That man is free who is self-reliant, who masters his passions; who fears neither poverty nor death nor prison; who resists his appetites and despises worldly ambition.
Horace 35 B.C.

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SACRED COW---A thing, idea or event immune to criticism---"That project has become a sacred cow."---To the Hindus the cow is sacred.---(1910). Atlantic Monthly. "In the office these corporations were jocularly referred to as 'sacred cows'."
SADDER BUT WISER---Having learned from an unpleasant experience.---"I am a little sadder but wiser after that experience."---Samuel Coleridge (1798). The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. "He went like one that hath been stunned, and is of sense forlorn; a sadder and a wiser man, he rose the morrow morn."
SAVE FOR A RAINY DAY---Put something aside against a time of need.---"You shouldn't spend every penny you make, you had better put some away for a rainy day."---(1580). Bugbears. "Wold he have me kepe nothyng agaynst a raynye day?"
SAVED BY THE BELL---Delivered from defeat at the last moment.---"That was close, I was saved by the bell."---Boxing term: The rules were that if the bell sounded the end of a round before a fighter could be counted out, he was saved to fight another round.
SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY
SCAPEGOAT---One who takes the blame for something.---"When this all gets settled, Jim is going to end up being the scapegoat."---Bible: Leviticus 16:7. On the Day of Atonement the sins of the people were symbolically placed upon the head of a goat and it was then allowed to escape into the wilderness.
SCARED OUT OF HIS WITS---Very scared; badly shaken by an experience.---"I was scared out of my wits, I thought something bad was wrong with her."---Thomas Babington (1840).* "The governor was frightened out of his wits."
SCARCE AS HEN'S TEETH---Nonexistent or extremely rare.---"Money in this house is scarce as hens teeth."---Hens, of course, have no teeth.---James Gilmore (Edmund Kirke) (1862). My Southern Friends.
SCATTERBRAINED ---Unorganized; don't think things through.---"He is the most scatterbrained person I know."
SCRAPING THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL
SCRATCH THE SURFACE---Do something superficially.---"It was a great gesture but it only scratched the surface."---(1915). New Republic. "With all his earnest intention Amherst merely scratched the surface of the immense field of American social endeavor."
SCREAMING MEEMIES---Severe jitters.---"The thought of going to the hospital gives me the screaming meemies."---During WWII the Germans developed an artillery shell that made a sound halfway between a scream and a wail as it passed over. The first time American soldiers heard them they were startled and scared. This sound was never forgotten once heard. Allied fighting men used a word that echoed the sound. Many who heard it retreated into nervous hysteria that took the same vivid title.

SCREWBALL---Oddball---"He is somewhat of a screwball isn't he."---Carl Hubbell, an all-time great baseball pitcher. His first big league game was a disaster; opposing batters knocked him out of the box. He convinced the manager to let him try a new pitch he had developed. A ball that rolled off the outer side of the middle finger in a reverse spin looked as though it would be a curve but behaved in the opposite fashion. The fans said there was only one thing to call a pitch that behaved in such an erratic fashion, a "screwball". As a result, screwball became our universal tag for someone who acts erratic.

SCUTTLEBUTT---Information; mostly meaningless or erroneous information; rumors; gossip.---"I stopped in at the local tavern and got all the scuttlebutt."---The butt (cask of drinking water) aboard ship was placed next to the scuttle (hatch with a movable cover) and when crew members went to get a drink of water they liked to exchange the latest rumors with their mates, so talk under a scuttle that sheltered a butt became "scuttlebutt".

SEAT OF YOUR PANTS---By instinct or experience.---"I am navigating by the seat of my pants."---Aviators saying. Harpers Magazine (1942). "When you check your instruments you find it [the airplane] is doing a correct job of flying and that the seat of your pants and your eyes would have tricked you had you been allowed to do the coordinating."
SEE THE LIGHT---Grasp the meaning of something.---"I didn't realize the error till Tom pointed it out to me, he made me see the light."---(1812). Niles Register. "it is indispensably necessary that every man should 'see the light'."
SEEING IS BELIEVING---You must prove it to me, I must see it to believe it.---Smedley (1850). Frank Fairlegh. "What an unbelieving Jew it is," said Archer; "hand him the list, and let him read it himself. Seeing is believing, they say."
SEIZE THE MOMENT---Live for today; enjoy your life now since nobody knows what the future holds. (Carpe diem).---Horace (65 B.C.) Odes. "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero." (Seize the day, put no trust in tomorrow.)(ORIGIN)
SELL LIKE HOT CAKES---go over big.---"these things are selling like hot cakes."---In the 19th century hot cakes were a notably big seller, before hot dogs and ice cream came along. O.J. Victor (1860). The History of the Southern Rebellion. "Revolvers and patent fire arms are selling like hot cakes."
SEPARATE THE WHEAT FROM THE CHAFF---Distinguish the wanted from the unwanted; valuable from the not valuable.---"We are going to have to separate the wheat from the chaff."---In days gone by the farmer would thrash the wheat and toss it into the breeze (winnow) so as to blow away the chaff (husk of the seed) and leave the grain.---Bible: Matthew 3:12. "Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
SET ONE'S TEETH ON EDGE---Severely annoying or unnerving.---"Every time I hear the chalk squeak on the board it sets my teeth on edge."---Bible: Jeremiah 31:28. "In those days they shall say no more. The fathers have eaten a sour grape; and the children's teeth are set on edge."
SEVENTH HEAVEN---Extreme joy or happiness.---"She is in seventh heaven now."---Among the ancient Jews the seventh heaven was the highest: "heaven of heavens." the abode of God and the most exalted angels. Muhammad also recognized seven heavens.---Sir Walter Scott (1824). St. Ronan's Well. "He looked upon himself as approaching to the seventh heaven."
SHAKE A STICK AT ---"He has more money than you can shake a stick at."---Shepherd"s term: If a shepherd had many animals to control, often times he had more than he could handle. There were more than he could shake his staff (stick) at.
SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE---Share equally.---"Let's share and share alike, everyone gets the same amount."---Cotgrave (1611). "Whereat every guest paies his part, or , share and share like."
SHE COULD MAKE YOU WRITE BAD CHECKS---Very alluring woman; someone you would do about anything for.---Shakespeare (1599). As You Like It. "Beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold."
SHE WOULD MAKE A HUSKY HUG A HOUND DOG---Not pretty.
SHIPS THAT PASS IN THE NIGHT---Casual acquaintances or relationships; people you may only encounter once in life.---"They were like two ships passing in the night."---Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1863). Tales of a Wayside Inn. "Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another, Only a look and a voice; then darkness again and silence."
SHIVERING LIKE A DOG SHITTING RAZOR BLADES---Really shivering.---"He was so cold he was shivering like a dog shitting razor blades."
SHIT IN ONE HAND AND WISH IN THE OTHER AND SEE WHICH ONE FILLS UP FIRST---Wishing is an exercise in futility.
SHIT OR GET OFF THE POT---Take acton or let someone else have a chance.
SHODDY---Second rate quality; poorly made.---"They sure use some shoddy workmanship in these new houses."---Recycling is not new, scarcity of wool during the Civil War had manufacturers salvaging rags in order to turn them back into yarn to make new cloth. The slang term used by textile workers for this material was "shoddy". During the war mills began shredding old woollen goods in order to turn out uniforms, they looked all right at first, but didn't wear well. So Union soldiers were forced to wear shoddy and the name came to mean anything of low quality.

SHOE IS ON THE OTHER FOOT---Conditions have been reversed.---"Now the shoe is on the other foot."---Until the 19th century boots or shoes could be worn on either foot, they were interchangeable.---Winston Churchill (1908). My African Journey. "Here the boot is on the other leg, and civilization is ashamed of her arrangements in the presence of a savage."
SHOOT THE BULL---Talk discursively; general conversation of little meaning.---"We sat around and shot the bull for an hour."---Root of the expression, "bull shit". "Bull" was used euphemistically. ---Charles E. Funk Heavens to Betsy. "The end product of the domestic bull, used chiefly as fertilizer."
SHORT END OF THE STICK---To be at a disadvantage; treated unfairly.---"I think I got the short end of the stick this time."---The "stick" or staff once used in fighting. If your opponent controls most of it and you have hold on only a short piece of it, you are in trouble.---T.A. Brown (1890). A Colonial Reformer. "If you happen to have the arrangement of a bargain with the rural Australian, you will rarely find that the impassive countryman has 'got the wrong end of the stick.'"
SHOT AT AND MISSED SHIT AT AND HIT---Looking really bad.---"He looks like he has been shot at and missed, shit at and hit."---Slang expression meaning that one looks so bad, usually after going through some ordeal, that they would have been better off to have been shot.
SHOT HIS WAD---Spent all his money; had his chance.---"He shot his wad, he's done."---Originally wad was a compact mass of cotton, hemp etc. used to hold the powder and shot in position in a gun for firing. It came to mean anything rolled up or compacted as a wad of tobacco or paper. In this case it is a wad of money.
SHOT IN THE DARK---A guess made without much to go on.---"I guess I'll have to take a shot in the dark on this one."---Sir John Vanbrugh (1698). The Provok'd Wife. "Go, now I am in for Hobbe's Voyage; a great Leap in the Dark."
SICK AS A DOG---Miserable; really laid low.---"I would have to get better to die, I am sick as a dog."---Bible: Proverbs 26:11. "As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly."
SIGHT FOR SORE EYES---A person one is particularly glad to see.---"Good to see you, you are a sight for sore eyes."---Jonathan Swift (1738). Polite Conversation. "The sight of you is good for sore eyes."
SIGHT UNSEEN---Without previous inspection.---"I bought the property, sight unseen."---Thomas Middleton (1622). The Old Law (play). "'Take that at hazard, sir', 'Unsighted, unseen, I take three to one.""
SIGN OF THE TIMES---Something characteristic of times we live in.---"It is terrible, it's just the sign of the times."---Bible: Matthew 3:16. "O ye hypocrites! ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?"
SILENCE IS GOLDEN---Sometimes it is best to keep quiet and say nothing.---H. W. Nevinson (1923.) Changes.
SINCE HECTOR WAS A PUP---A long time.---"Good to see you, I haven't seen you since hector was a pup."---A character in Greek mythology, it's been a long time since Hector was young.
SINK OR SWIM---Succeed or fail, according to your own efforts.---"He will either sink or swim."---Thomas Starkey (1538). England in the Reign of Henry the Eighth. "They care not (as hyt ys commynly sayd) 'whether they synke or swyme.'"
SIT TIGHT---Hold your ground; wait.---"Just sit tight, they will help you in a minute."---Poker expression, If you don't want to bet further, you "sit tight".---Violet hunt (1897). Unkist, Unkind. "'Sit tight!' she exclaimed, pinching my arm violently. She always talks slang when she is excited."
SITTING DUCK---An easy mark or target.---"With his bad record in business, he was a sitting duck at the meeting."---Marksmanship in duck hunting is determined by the ability to hit ducks in flight, shooting a duck sitting in the water is an easy mark and would be unsportsmanlike.---I. Willis Rullell (1949). American Speech. (1944). Readers Digest. "Why Tankers Are No Longer Sitting Ducks."
SITTING PRETTY---Well situated; in an advantageous position.---"He has a new job and a new home, he is sitting pretty now."---P.G Wodehouse (1925) Sam the Sudden. "If you are American, we're sitting pretty because it's only us Americans that's got real sentiment in them."
SIX OF ONE AND HALF A DOZEN OF THE OTHER---It's all the same.---A cold lasts a week if you treat it, seven days if you don't. Frederick Marryat (1836). The Pirate and the Three Cutters. "I knows the women, but I never knows the children. It's just six of one and half a dozen of the other, ain't it, Bill?"
SKELETON IN THE CLOSET---Something you don't want known; a family secret.---"Our neighbor has some skeletons in his closet."---(1878). Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. A tale about an effort to find someone who had not a single care. A woman seemed to qualify, but she showed the inquirers a closet containing a human skeleton, telling them that it was a rival her husband had killed in a duel. "I try to keep my trouble to myself," she said, "but every night my husband compels me to kiss that skeleton."
SLEAZY---Inferior in quality.---A special kind of linen which British merchants bought from the Silesian district in Germany. It was of inferior quality and did not hold up well.

SLEEP ON IT---Defer a decision until tomorrow; think about it.---"I can't decide right now I will have to sleep on it."---Florio (1578). First Fruites. "The nyght is the mother of thoughts." Congrave (1611). "Night gives advice; we say, take counsel of your pillow."
SLIPSHOD---Slovenly in appearance; careless.(MEAN)---As early as the 15th century house slippers came into vogue. Slip shoes, as they were called were for indoor use but some people would wear them outside in public. By 1580, it became proverbial that a shameless person would go slip shod to worship. People who were careless about their appearance were said to be "slip shod".

SLOW BUT SURE---Fuller (1639). Holy War. "These though slow, were sure."
SLOWER THAN MOLASSES IN JANUARY---Very slow.---"That girl is slower than molasses in January."---Molasses thickens up in the cold and runs very slowly.
SLUSH FUND---Funds to buy extras; used for corrupt enterprises.---Before refrigeration a ship's captain would take aboard as much salt pork as he could buy. When fried or boiled, the all important meat yielded grease in such quantities that special storage vats were used for it. Much waste fat, or slush, was used to grease timbers. The slush seemed to accumulate faster than it could be used. A vessel returning home might have hundreds of pounds of slush which was sold to buy extras for members of the crew. This became known as the slush fund.

SMART AS A WHIP---Bright; clever.---"That boy is smart as a whip."---A whip "smarts" when it is used on someone or some animal. You can see the natural transfer, a play on words.
SMOOTH AS SILK---Done in a felicitous way; highly slick way.---"He was smooth as silk when he asked for a raise."---Silk was the softest and smoothest fabric.---Thomas Wright (1842). Specimens of Lyric Poetry. "Body ant brest wel mad al, eyther side soft as sylk."
SNAKE IN THE GRASS---A treacherous or unexpectedly threatening person.---"Keep an eye on him, he is a snake in the grass."---A snake in the grass is sneaky, stealthy and for most people unnerving. A person who is this way does most of their dirty work under cover and sneakily like a snake.---Vergil (13th century). Eclogues. "Latret anguis in herba" [a snake lurks in the grass].
SNOW JOB---To distract someone from the facts with flattery or talk.---"He talked her into going out with him, did he ever give her a snow job."---When it snows everything is covered with a beautiful white blanket, all the bad things are covered up.---Morroe Berger (1945). American Speech. "Snow job comes from the phrase 'to snow someone under,' and make a concerted effort to convince a girl, a superior or a fellow soldier of something that takes a lot of convincing."
SNUG AS A BUG IN A RUG---Comfortable; safe.---"Since we were able to buy our new home, we are as snug as a bug in a rug."---A play: (1769). The Stratford Jubilee. "If she has the mopus's, (lost word meaning money) I'll have her, as snug as a bug in a rug."
SOFT SOAP---Flattery---"We'll soft soap him and maybe we will get the contract."---When soap becomes wet and soft it is very slippery. Con men originally used the term to describe how they slicked a sucker up for the kill.
SOME DAYS YOU EAT THE BEAR, SOME DAYS THE BEAR EATS YOU
SOMETHING IS ROTTEN IN DENMARK---I suspect that something is very wrong.---Shakespeare (1601.) Hamlet. Marcellus: "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."
SON OF A GUN---You don't say; oh, him.---"I'll be a son of a gun."---The phrase serves equally as a mild expression of dislike, an affectionate response and an exclamation of surprise. British Admiral William Henry Smyth (1865). The Sailor's Word Book. "An epithet applied to boys born afloat, when women were permitted to accompany their husbands to sea; one admiral declared he literally was thus cradled, under the breast of a gun carriage."
SORRY DON'T FEED THE CAT--- When money is involved being sorry often isn't enough.---Spurgeon (1869). John Ploughman. "A hundred years of regret pay not a farthing of debt."
SOUR GRAPES---Something you want but cannot attain or get, you say you really don't want it.---"He says he don't want the job but that is just sour grapes."---T. Adams (1630). Works. "The Fox despiseth the grapes he cannot reach.
SOUTHPAW---Being left handed.---Major league ball diamonds were laid out so that the batter faced east, thus putting the afternoon sun behind his back and making it easier to see the ball. Therefore, when the pitcher faces the batter he's facing west and his left arm is to the south.
SOW WILD OATS---Do some foolish things while you are young.---"I guess he will just have to sow his wild oats."---Usually referred to a young man getting all his frivolity done before he settled down to raise a family. It would be foolish to sew wild oats and expect a yield of grain because it is actually a tall grass. Thomas Newton (1576). Lemnie's Touchstone of complexions. "That willful and unruly age, which lacketh rypenes and discretion, and hath not sowed all theyr wyeld Oats."
SPARE THE ROD AND SPOIL THE CHILD---A child needs correction, and looks for it from someone.---Bible: Proverbs 19:18 "Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.---S. Rowley (1613). When You See Me. "A rod in scoole, a whip for a foole, is alwaies in season." Thackeray (1855). Newcomes. "A brother to whom my peer mother spared the rod, and who has turned out but a spoilt child."
SPEAK OF THE DEVIL---Saying used when someone shows up that you were talking about.---"Well, speak of the devil, here's Harry."---Torriano (1666). Piazza Univ. "Talk of the Devil, and he's presently at your elbow."
SPEAK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG STICK---Don't be overly aggressive, but have the ability to use whatever force is necessary.---Theodore Roosevelt (1901.)
SPILL THE BEANS---Tell what you know when it is supposed to be kept secret; prematurely expose a plan.---"If she keeps after him he is going to spill the beans."---Comes from two words with origins as early as the 13th century. "Spill" meant to talk and "beans" meant what you knew.---Eric Linklater (1929). Poet's Pub. "'Tell me the truth,' she says. 'Spill the beans, Holly, old man!'"
new! SPITTING IMAGE---Exact copy; the same.---"He is the spitting image of his father."---Herold Wentworth (suggested that spit was an American coruption of spirit, and that the phrase may have originated as "spirit and image".

SPLIT HAIRS---Concern oneself with fine distinctions; quibble.---"Let's get the deal signed and quit splitting hairs about the details."---It was once thought that a hair was so fine that the effort needed to split it would be a waste of time. Gabriel D'Emillianne (1691). Observations on a Journey to Naples. "Shewing himself very inventive and dexterous at splitting a hair in his way of handling scholastic matter."
SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOLE---A misfit; a person mismatched or unfit for the task at hand.---"Trying to get those two together is like trying to put a square peg in a round hole."---Sydney Smith (19th century) (lecture). "We shall generally find that the triangular person has got into the square hole, the oblong into the triangular, and a square person has squeezed himself into the round hole."
SQUEAKING WHEEL GETS THE OIL (GREASE)---A person who complains the most usually gets the most attention; an immediate problem gets attention.---"Just keep asking, remember, the squeaking wheel gets the oil."---In the days of wagons and horses, the wagon wheels had to be greased regularly or it would begin to squeak and wear the axle. The wagon owners would put off this task until a wheel started squeaking. The one that squeaked got the grease.
STAND ON YOUR OWN TWO FEET---Be independent.---"You are going to have to learn to stand on your own two feet."---Thomas Jefferson (1791.) Works of John Adams.
STARK RAVING MAD---Out of one's mind; acting bizarrely.---"The dog chewed up his new furniture and he went stark raving mad."---Gabriel Harvey (1593). Pierces Supererogation. "I wis hee mought have spied a difference betwene raging, and starke madde."
START FROM SCRATCH---Begin with nothing; without advantage.---"We have lost it all, I guess we will have to start from scratch."---Literally a line scratched on the ground, the starting line. Horses or people racing with a handicap start ahead of the line, ones without handicap start behind the line; start from scratch. James Joyce (1922). Ulysses. "A poor foreign immigrant who started scratch as a stowaway and is now trying to turn an honest penny."
STEAL HIS THUNDER---Take credit for someone's idea or accomplishment.---"He is trying to steal my thunder."---John Dennis in 1709 wrote Appius and Virginia, a play. It was a failure, but it had one distinction in that Dennis had devised a way of creating the sound of thunder as part of the staging. Later he heard his thunder at a presentation of Macbeth "My God," he said, "the villains will play my thunder but not my plays!"
STEER CLEAR OF---Avoid.---"You had better steer clear of that bunch."---Daniel Defoe (1723). The History and Remarkable life of Colonel Jacque. "We would have steered clear of them, and cared not to have them see us, if we could help it, but they did see us, and cried, who comes there?"
STEP ON A CRACK, BREAK YOUR MOTHER'S BACK---A children's old adage, stepping on a crack in the sidewalk would bring bad luck.
STICK IN ONE'S CRAW---An unacceptable event or situation one cannot stop thinking about.---"The way he acted, that really sticks in my raw."---A part of a bird's digestive tract (craw) (gizzard) (crop) where food is ground up. Sir Thomas Player (1679). "Tis the matter, not the manner, that sticks in our unworthy respondents gizzard."
STICK IN THE MUD---Not progressive; satisfied with ones position.---"He is a real stick in the mud."---A wagon stuck in the mud, it's not going anywhere.
STICK TO YOUR GUNS---Don't quit; hold your position in the face adversity.---"Don't give up now, stick to your guns."---Military saying, probably naval. Samuel Warren (1839). "Titmouse, though greatly alarmed, stood to his gun pretty steadily."
STICK YOUR NECK OUT---Take a chance; expose yourself to failure or criticism.---"If we are going to succeed we are going to have to stick our necks out."---Alludes to a chicken in the farm yard with his neck stretched out on the chopping block.---Shakespeare Henry V. Fluellen, thinking the soldier Williams has done a traitorous thing, says, "Let his neck answer for it."
STICKS AND STONES MAY BREAK MY BONES BUT WORDS WILL NEVER HURT ME---Words can never physically hurt you.---(1897). Notes & Queries. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but cruel words can never harm me."
STILL WATERS RUN DEEP---Quiet people are often found to have profound insights.---The shallow water in a creek or river run fast and are often turbulent, the deep water runs slow and is calmer. Shakespeare Henry VI "Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep; and in his simple show he harbours treason."
(Like) STINK ON SHIT---Something you can't get off; a situation that won't go away.---"The IRS was on him like stink on shit."
STIR UP A HORNET'S NEST---Provoke an angry reaction.---"He really stirred up a hornet's nest with that suggestion."---Samuel Richardson (1739). Pamela. "I rais'd a hornet's nest about my ears, that may have stung to death my reputation.
STOLEN WATERS ARE SWEET---What is forbidden seems to be the best.---Bible: Proverbs 9:17. "Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
STONEWALL---To impede progress; put up obstacles.---"He is stonewalling again, he doesn't want us to find out the real reason."---Attributed to "Stonewall" Jackson at the battle of Bull Run. He was ordered to hold his position against the Federal forces and did so. He was said to have stood like a stone wall. Today the term is used to describe stalling or throwing other issues in the way to impede or stop investigations, inquiries or actions by another party.
STOOL PIGEON---Someone who betrays his friends or associates.------Pigeons were once an important source of meat. many were captured and some shot, but damaged meat was considered less tasty. Trappers learned to tie a tame pigeon to a stool, and lure the wild pigeons into their trap.

STRAIGHTEN UP AND FLY RIGHT---Behave yourself; do what is right.---"You had better straighten up and fly right."
STRAIN AT A GNAT AND SWALLOW A CAMEL---Worry over small wrongs but commit or accept big ones.---Bible: Matthew 23:24. Jesus said, "Ye blind guides! which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel."
STRETCH THE TRUTH---Exaggerate.---"Don't you think you are stretching the truth a bit."---Mark Twain (1884). Huckleberry Finn. "There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth."
STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT---Act at a favorable time; take advantage of a situation.---"You had better strike while the iron is hot."---A blacksmith in order to shape and work the iron must do so when it is hot. Chaucer (1386). "Whil that iren is hoot, men shoulden smyte."
STUBBORN AS A MULE---Ornery; very stubborn.---"Gary is stubborn as a mule."---Many mule drivers will tell you that if a mule does not want to move it takes a considerable effort to get it going.---Maria Edgeworth (1809). Absentee. "She was as obstinate as a mule on that point."
STUDY LONG YOU STUDY WRONG---If you ponder a question too long you will come up with the wrong answer.---Of course the saying: "Haste makes waste," is another view.
STUFFED SHIRT---A pompous man; self righteous.---"He certainly is a stuffed shirt."---A look at a mannikin in a men's clothing store, well dressed but lifeless may explain this.---Willa Cather (1913). O Pioneers! "he characterized Frank Shabata by a Bohemian expression which is the equivalent of stuffed shirt."
STUPID QUESTIONS ARE THOSE UNASKED
SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE---Accept what is happening or what is being offered even though it may be humiliating.---"I guess I am just going to have to swallow my pride and admit my mistake."---Some times if you let pride get in the way you may miss an opportunity. John Pintard (1821). Letters from John Pintard to His Daughter. "How much pride have i to swallow?"
SWAN SONG---A farewell; one's last appearance.---"This is going to be my last softball tournament boys, this is my swan song."---Ancient legend has it that although a swan does not sing, a dying swan does manage at last to give voice to something like a song.---John Pintard (1821). Letters form John Pintard to His Daughter. "The swane ageynist his dethe shall sing his penavnse [penance]."
SWEETNESS AND LIGHT---False or overdone good cheer.---"He is all sweetness and light when he wants something."---It has come to be used in the negative context, originally it was not.---Jonathan Swift (1697). Battle of the Books. He wrote an imaginary fable in the Aesop mode; it concerned the merits of the bee, representing the old, and the spider, representing the the new. Swift concluded: "The difference is that instead of dirt and poison, we have rather chosen to fill our hives with honey and was, thus furnishing mankind with the two noblest of things, which are sweetness and light." (Light because the wax would be turned into candles).

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