scurry
1244
very rude, improper, or evil and usually untrue statements:
He has been the target of some scurrilous attacks in the
newspapers. —ly adv —ness n [U]
scur·ry¹ /'skʌri||'skɜːri/ v [I+adv/prep] to move hastily, espe-
cially with short quick steps; hurry: The mouse scurried into
its hole when the cat appeared.
scurry² n [S;U] a movement or especially sound of scurrying:
I heard the scurry of feet in the hall.
S-curve /'es kɜːv||-kɜːrv/ n [C] AmE a bend in the road in the
shape of an 'S', that can be dangerous to drivers; S-BEND BrE
scur·vy¹ /'skɜːvi||-ɜːr-/ n [U] a disease marked by bleeding
and caused by not eating fruit and vegetables with VITAMIN C:
In former times, sailors often suffered from scurvy.
scurvy² adj [A] old-fash dishonourable; deserving no respect;
DESPICABLE: What a scurvy trick to let your friend take the
blame for your mistake! —vily adv
scut·tle¹ /'skʌtl/ v [I+adv/prep] to rush with short quick steps,
especially in order to escape: The children scuttled off/away
when they saw the policeman.
scuttle² v [T] to sink (a ship, especially one's own) by
making holes in the bottom
scuttle³ n a COALSCUTTLE
scut·tle·butt /'skʌlbʌt/ n [U] AmE infml an interesting but
possibly untrue story; GOSSIP
scuz·zy /'skʌzi/ adj AmE slang unpleasant and dirty
Scyl·la and Cha·ryb·dis /,sɪlə ənd kə'rɪbdɪs/ between
Scylla and Charybdis in a situation where you have to
choose between two possible actions, but both are dangerous
or unpleasant. The phrase comes from the ancient Greek
stories of Scylla, a MONSTER, and Charybdis, a WHIRLPOOL
(=water that spins around and pulls things down into it)
that killed sailors in the sea between Italy and Sicily. People
sometimes also use the phrase 'between a rock and a hard
place' to mean the same thing.
scythe¹ /saɪð/ n a tool that has a long curving blade fixed to
a long wooden pole and is worked with a swinging move-
ment to cut grain or long grass ➔ compare SICKLE
scythe² v [I;T[DOWN, through]] to cut down (as if) with a scythe:
The motorbike scythed (a path) through the crowd.
SD written abbrev. for SOUTH DAKOTA
SDI /,es di: 'aɪ/ abbrev. for the Strategic Defense Initiative; a
military plan started in the US in 1983 and strongly sup-
ported by President REAGAN for making special weapons that
could destroy an enemy country's MISSILES before they
could reach the US. It is commonly known as 'Star Wars'
because the plan was for a system of SATELLITES containing
LASER weapons that would destroy missiles from space.
Many scientists believed that the plan was impossible to
achieve.
SDLP, the /,es di: el 'piː:/ abbrev. for the Social Democrat and
Labour Party; a political party in Northern Ireland, mostly
supported by Catholics, which has fairly LEFT WING ideas.
Although the SDLP wants Northern Ireland to become part
of the Republic of Ireland, it is completely opposed to the
use of violence to achieve this aim. The SDLP had an
important part in the peace talks in Northern Ireland in the
1990s.
SDP, the /,es di: 'piː:/ n the Social Democratic Party; a former
political party in the UK, which was formed in 1981 by
several important MPs (=Members of Parliament) from the
Labour Party who believed that their party had become too
LEFT WING. It was led by Dr David OWEN. Most of its members
joined with the Liberal Party in 1987 to form the Social and
Liberal Democrats (also called the Lib Dems).
SE the written abbrev. for SOUTHEAST or SOUTHEASTERN
sea /siː/ n 1 [(the) U] especially BrE || ocean especially AmE —the
great body of salty water that covers much of the Earth's
surface; ocean: I enjoy swimming in the sea (especially BrE)/in
the ocean (especially AmE). | boats sailing on the sea | Two thirds
of the Earth is covered by sea. | The sea is calm today. (=with
not many big waves) | A gale is forecast, so we can expect
rough/heavy/stormy seas. (=with big waves) | She lives in a
little cottage by the sea. (=on the coast) | He travelled by air,
but sent his heavy luggage by sea. (=on a ship) | We've now
been at sea three days. (=our ship's voyage has lasted three
days) | He was buried at sea. (=his dead body was dropped
seaweed
seahorse
sea
anemone
sea urchin
limpet
starfish
into the sea from a boat) | We shall put to sea (=start our
voyage) on the next high tide. | When he was 15 he ran away to
sea. (=to become a sailor) | a sea voyage ➔ see also HIGH
SEAS 2 [C] (often cap., especially as part of a name) a large body of
salty water smaller than an ocean, either a) a part of the
ocean: the North Sea (northeast of Britain) or b) a body of
water (mostly) enclosed by land: the Dead Sea | the Mediter-
ranean Sea 3 [(of)] a large mass or quantity spread out in
front of one: The actor looked out from the stage onto a sea of
faces. 4 [C] (usually cap. as part of a name) any of a number of
broad plains on the moon: the Sea of Tranquillity 5 at sea
infml as if lost; not understanding: I'm afraid I'm all/
completely at sea with this maths problem. 6 go down to the
sea in ships phrase from the Bible a slightly changed phrase
from the Book of Psalms, used as a formal or poetic way of
saying 'go to sea' ➔ see also DEAD SEA, SEA LEGS
sea 'air n [U] the fresh air at the seaside, said by many
people to be good for one: Let's go for a walk on the beach
and take in some sea air.
'sea a,nemone also anemone n a simple sea animal with a
jelly-like body and brightly-coloured flower-like parts that
can often sting ➔ see picture at SEA
sea·bed /'siːbed/ n [the] the land at the bottom of the sea
Sea·bee /'siːbiː/ a member of a part of the US Navy that
builds landing areas for aircraft and other structures that are
needed in places where there is fighting. The official name
of this unit is the 'Construction Battalion', and the word
Seabee comes from the first letters of this name.
sea·bird /'siːbɜːd||-bɜːrd/ n any of the birds living near the
sea or finding food in it
sea·board /'siːbɔːd||-bɔːrd/ n the part of a country along a
seacoast: the eastern seaboard of the US
sea·borne /'siːbɔːn||-bɔːrn/ n carried or brought in ships:
airborne attack | seaborne trade
'sea breeze n a cool light wind blowing from the sea onto
the land
'sea ,captain n not tech a person in command of a ship,
especially one carrying goods for trade
'sea change n a complete change in the character or nature
of something: His public image underwent a dramatic sea
change.
'sea dog n lit or humor a sailor with long experience
'Sea ,Empress, the an OIL TANKER (=a ship that carries
large quantities of oil) that was damaged near the coast of
Wales in 1996, so that oil poured into the sea, causing great
harm to the environment ➔ compare EXXON VALDEZ, TOR-
REY CANYON
sea·far·ing /'siːfearŋ/ adj [A] especially lit 1 of, about, or
doing the job of a sailor: a seafaring man | a story from my
seafaring days 2 having strong connections with the sea
and sailing: Britain is a seafaring nation.
sea·food /'siːfuːd/ n [U] fish and fishlike animals from the
sea, especially SHELLFISH which can be eaten
sea·front /'siːfrʌnt/ n [C; the] the part of a coastal town that
is on the edge of the sea, often with a broad path along it for
holiday visitors: a seafront hotel
Sea·gal, Ste·ven /'siːgəl, 'stiːvən/ (1951–) an American
actor, known for appearing in ACTION FILMS and for being
very skilful at MARTIAL ARTS. His films include Above the Law,
Under Siege, and The Patriot.
sea·girt /'siːgɜːt||-gɜːrt/ adj poet surrounded by the sea