Q
Queer street: To be in queer street
R
Rabbit: To rabbit on
Rain: To rain cats and dogs
As
right as rain
Rap: It's not worth a rap
Rat: To smell a rat*
Red: In the red
Red letter day:
Red tape: It's a load of red tape
Rigmarole: What a rigmarole
Riley/Reilly: To live the life of*
Ringer: A dead ringer*
Rise: To take the rise out of someone
River: Sold down the river
Sent
up the river*
Rob: To Rob Peter to pay Paul
Robinson: Before you can say Jack Robinson
Rocker: Off his rocker
Rope: It's money for old rope
Ropes: To learn the ropes*
Run: A dry run*
A
milk run*
S
Sack: To get the sack
Salad days:*
Salt: Worth his salt
Below
the salt
With
a pinch of salt
Sandboy: As happy as a sandboy
Sausage: Not worth a sausage*
Scapegoat:
Scarum: Harum scarum
Scot: Scot free
Scotch: Scotch a rumour
Scott: Great Scott
Scrape: To get in a scrape
Scratch: To start from scratch
To
come up to scratch
You
scratch my back and I'll scratch
yours*
Screwed: To be screwed*
Seamy side of life
Settle: To settle terms, etc.
Shakes: He's no great shakes
Shambles: It's a bit of a shambles
Sheets: Three sheets to the wind*
Shirty: To get shirty with someone*
Short shrift: He'll get short shrift
Shot: Not by a long shot
Shoulder: To give the cold shoulder
Sixes
and Sevens
Skid: To be on Skid Row
Skinflint: He's a bit of a skinflint
Slapstick comedy: see Hump*
Slap up: A slap up meal*
Sleep: To sleep tight*
Sleeve: To laugh up one's sleeve*
Slope: To slope off
Slush fund
Snook: To cock a snook at someone
Soap opera
Sock: Put a sock in it
Soldier: To come the old soldier*
Song: Going for a song
Sorts: Out of sorts*
Soup: In the soup
Spell: A spell of duty
Spick and span: All spick and span
Splash out: To splash out on something*
Spoils: Spoils of war
Spoke: To put a spoke in your wheel
Spoon: To get the wooden spoon
Spots: To knock spots off
Spout: Up the spout
Spruce: All spruced up
Spurs: To gain one's spurs*
Square: A square meal
All
fair and square
To
stand four (?fore) square
Back
to square one
Stake: To have a stake in
At
stake
Stave: To stave off
Steep: That's a bit steep
Stick: To get hold of the wrong end of the stick*
Sticking point*
Stickler: He's a stickler
Sticks: To up sticks*
Stiff necked: He's stiff necked*
Stitch: To stitch someone up*
Stops: To pull out all the stops
Strait laced:
Strapped: strapped for cash
Straw: A man of straw
Last
straw*
Strike: To go on strike
Stroppy: To get stroppy*
Stump: To stump up with the cash
Stumped: To be stumped*
Suck up: To suck up*
Sway: To hold sway*
Swim: In the swim
