sw イディオム
a double-edged sword
a device that can help you and hurt you Truth is a double-edged sword. It can imprison me or set me free.
a new broom sweeps clean
an employee works hard on the first day or two, make a good impression "After my first day working for Grandfather, he said, ""A new broom sweeps clean."""
a pat answer
a planned or memorized answer, a canned answer You won't get the job if you give a pat answer to every question.
a sweet tooth
a need to eat candy, a craving for sugar After dinner we'll serve mints. Daddy has a sweet tooth, eh.
asleep at the switch
not alert to an opportunity I think he was asleep at the switch. He didn
break a sweat
begin to sweat or perspire, work up a sweat For exercise to be beneficial, the athlete must break a sweat.
by the sweat of one
by hard work He managed to make enough money to buy the farm by the sweat of his brow.
cast pearls before swine
waste something on someone who won
cut a wide swath
do many things - party, play sports, live and love Tim cut a wide swath in his youth. He lived a full and active life.
don't sweat it
do not worry about it, you can't saw sawdust If you did your best but didn't win a medal, don't sweat it.
double-edged sword
(See a double-edged sword)
drain the swamp
remove what prevents a clear view of the problem If I were manager, my first step would be to drain the swamp.
fall on your sword
quit, resign, pull the pin I know I caused the problem, but I won't fall on my sword. They'll have to fire me.
get in the swing of things
adapt to a new environment or situation He got into the swing of things after the party started.
hard to swallow
hard to accept, hard to take "She said, ""He has custody of the children. It's hard to swallow."""
in one fell swoop
in one action, in one attack, at once Our TV ad is effective. In one fell swoop we create doubts about the other products and sell our own.
in the swim
active in or knowing what is going on He is definitely in the swim. He has information about everybody.
look like the cat that ate (swallowed) the canary
seem very self-satisified like you have just had some kind of success He looked like the cat that ate the canary when he came in with a smile on his face.
look like the cat that swallowed the canary
look very self-satisfied, look as if one just had a great success You look like the cat that swallowed the canary. What happened?
make a clean sweep
win all games in a series The Jets made a clean sweep of the series - won all four games.
new broom sweeps clean
a new person makes many changes We discovered the truth to the expression "a new broom sweeps clean" when our new boss changed everything in our organization.
no sweat
not a problem, no trouble, no prob """Thanks for the help, Ryan."" ""No sweat, man."""
one fell swoop
(See in one fell swoop)
pat answer
(See a pat answer)
short and sweet
brief and pleasant His visit with his parents was short and sweet.
sink or swim
fail or succeed by your own efforts He will have to sink or swim when he begins his new job.
so small you could barely swing a cat
very small room, narrow room The bedroom was so small you could barely swing a cat in it.
swallow one
bring one
swallow that
believe that, buy that, eat that He said the company is bankrupt, but don't swallow that!
swallow your pride
do not let your pride stop you, control your pride Swallow your pride. Accept the offer to return to your old job.
swamped
overwhelmed I am a little swamped with work at the moment so I can
swan song
final appearance He was a big hit during his swan song at the party last week.
swear by
use as the support or authority that what one is saying is truthful The accused criminal was asked to swear on a bible at the trial.
swear in
have a person promise to do his duty as a member of an organization or government dept. etc. The new Prime Minister was sworn in last night at the parliament.
swear off
decide to give up something that you are in the habit of using My friend swore off alcohol several years ago.
sweat bullets
worry, be very concerned or afraid or nervous I was sweating bullets when I heard your plane went down.
sweat bullets/blood
be nervous, be very worried I was sweating bullets during the interview but after it started I was able to calm down.
sweat it
(See don't sweat it)
sweat it out
wait and worry, on pins and needles While the jury discussed a verdict, the prisoner was sweating it out.
sweat out
wait anxiously, worry while waiting I spent the evening sweating out whether or not I would get the job or not.
sweater girl
girl with big breasts who wears a tight sweater Jody was the sweater girl in our class. She was sexy.
sweep off one
overcome with strong feelings We were swept off our feet over the excitement of the ceremony.
sweep under the carpet
hide problems, cover mistakes Don't sweep your problems under the carpet. Try to solve them.
sweep under the rug
hide or dismiss casually They always sweep their problems under the rug and never want to discuss them.
sweep you off your feet
impress you, cause you to love them quickly Andre is very charming. He will sweep you off your feet.
sweet on
in love with, very fond of He was sweet on his next door neighbor when he was a child.
sweet spot
(See the sweet spot)
sweet talk
praise or flatter someone to get what you want My sister tried to sweet talk our father into giving her the car but he said no.
sweet tooth
a need to eat candy, a craving for sweets A piece of dark chocolate will satisfy my sweet tooth. Yum!
sweeten the pot
add more good things, make it worth more If we sweeten the pot with a trip to Paris, we'll sell more tickets.
