sleeping bag
1306
heavy/sound sleeper. | a light sleeper 3 especially BrE || usually tie
AmE — any of the row of heavy pieces of wood, metal etc,
supporting a railway track 4 a train with beds for sleeping
through the night 5 BrE a small ring worn in the ear, so as to
keep open a hole made there for an EARRING 6 especially AmE
something, such as a book, play, record etc, that has a
delayed or unexpected success
'sleeping bag n a large warm bag filled with soft material
for sleeping in when camping
Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping 'Beauty 1 the main character in a FAIRY TALE
called Sleeping Beauty, who is a princess who lives in a castle.
An evil FAIRY makes the princess and everyone else in the
castle fall asleep for ever. A thick forest grows around the
castle and hides it until, after a hundred years, a prince finds
Sleeping Beauty and kisses her, and then she and everyone
else in the castle wakes up. There is a famous BALLET by
Tchaikovsky based on this story, and PANTOMIMES in the UK
are often based on it. 2 someone who seems to be sleeping
peacefully: Just look at Sleeping Beauty there!
'sleeping car n a railway carriage with beds for passengers
→ compare COUCHETTE
'sleeping dogs n [P] let sleeping dogs lie not to make
trouble for oneself by continuing to remember old argu-
ments and problems one had with someone else
,sleeping 'partner BrE || silent partner AmE — n a partner
in a business who takes no active part in its operation
'sleeping pill also 'sleeping tablet n a PILL which helps a
person to sleep. Taking too many sleeping pills is very
dangerous, and it is something that some people do when
they want to kill themselves.
,sleeping po'liceman especially BrE || speed bump AmE —
n a narrow raised part placed across a road to force traffic to
move slowly
'sleeping sickness n [U] a serious African disease carried
by the TSETSE FLY that causes loss of weight, fever, and great
tiredness
sleep-less /'sli:pləs/ adj 1 not providing sleep: I've spent
many sleepless nights worrying about what I should do. 2 lit
not sleeping or able to sleep: He lay sleepless on his bed.
—ly adv —ness n [U]
'sleep-over n a SLUMBER PARTY (=when a group of children
all sleep at one person's house)
sleep-walk-er /'sli:p,wɔ:kə/ n a person who gets up and
walks about while asleep. It is believed by many people that
you should not wake someone when they are sleepwalking.
—walking n [U] —sleepwalk v [I]
sleep-y /'sli:pi/ adj † tired and ready for sleep;
DROWSY 2 quiet; inactive or slow-moving: a sleepy country
town —ily adv: 'What time is it?' she said sleepily. —iness n
[U]
sleep-y-head /'sli:pihed/ n infml a sleepy person, especially a
child: Wake up, sleepyhead!
sleet¹ /sli:t/ n [U] partly frozen rain; ice falling in fine bits
mixed with water: The rain/snow turned to sleet. → see RAIN
(USAGE) —y adj
sleet² v [it+I] (of sleet) to fall: It's started sleeting.
sleeve /sli:v/ n 1 a part of a garment for covering (part of)
an arm: a dress with short/long sleeves | He rolled up his
sleeves and started to dig. 2 especially BrE || usually jacket AmE —
a stiff envelope for keeping a RECORD in 3 a tube with two
open ends for enclosing something, especially a machine
part 4 have/keep something up one's sleeve infml to keep
something secret for use at the right time in the future: I've
got a few ideas up my sleeve if this method doesn't work.
5 -sleeved /sli:vd/ having sleeves of the stated length or
shape: a short-sleeved shirt → see also laugh up one's sleeve
(LAUGH), wear one's heart on one's sleeve (WEAR) —less
adj
'sleeve notes BrE || liner notes AmE — n [P] printed
information on a SLEEVE about the contents of the RECORD
inside
sleigh /sleɪ/ n a large usually horse-drawn vehicle which
slides along snow on two metal blades → compare SLEDGE
sleight of hand /slaɪt əv 'hænd/ n [U] skill and quickness
of the hands in doing tricks: He made the coin disappear by
sleight of hand. 1 (fig.) It was a remarkable piece of political
sleight of hand to get such an unpopular policy accepted.
slen-der /'slendə/ adj 1 apprec delicately or gracefully thin
in the body; not fat: a slender woman/figure → see THIN
(USAGE) 2 (pleasingly) thin compared to length or height;
not wide or thick: The spider hung suspended on its slender
thread. 3 slight; small and hardly enough; MEAGRE: (euph) a
person of slender means/resources (=without much
money) | They won the election, but only with a very slender
majority. —ness n [U]
slen-der-ize /'slendəraɪz/ v [I;T] AmE old-fash to make (one-
self) thinner by eating less, playing sports etc
slept /slept/ past tense & past participle of SLEEP
sleuth /slu:θ/ n humor for DETECTIVE
S lev-el /'es levəl/ n a former British GCSE examination at a
very high standard, higher than an A LEVEL, usually taken at
the age of 18. S levels were replaced by AEAs in 2002.
slew¹ /slu:/ past tense of SLAY
slew² also slue AmE — v [I;T (ROUND, AROUND)] to (cause to) turn
or swing violently: I lost control of the car and it slewed
round.
slew³ n [(of) usually sing.] infml a large number; lot: We've got a
whole slew of difficulties.
slewed /slu:d/ adj [F] BrE old-fash slang drunk
slice¹ /slaɪs/ n 1 [(of)] a thin flat piece cut from something: a
slice of bread/cake | (fig.) They wanted to make sure they got a
slice of the profits/of the market. → see CHUNK (USAGE) 2 a
kitchen tool with a broad blade for lifting and serving pieces
of food → see also FISH SLICE 3 (in sports like GOLF and
tennis) (a stroke causing) a flight of a ball towards one side,
rather than straight ahead 4 a slice of the cake (BrE) || pie
(AmE) a share in something, especially a sum of money: Cities
like Birmingham are hoping to get a bigger slice of the grant
cake this year.
slice² v 1 [T(UP)] to cut into slices: Slice the cucumber, please. |
She sliced up the cake. 2 [T+obj+adv/prep] to cut off as a slice:
He sliced off a thick piece from the loaf. 3 [I+adv/prep;T] to cut
with a knife: He sliced (into/through) his fingers by accident
when cutting vegetables. 4 [I;T] to hit (a ball) in a SLICE 5 any
way you slice it AmE infml however you consider it
,sliced 'bread n 1 bread that is sold already cut into
slices 2 (think something is) the best/greatest thing since
sliced bread infml (to think, possibly foolishly, very highly
of) something new which appears to be wonderful: He
thinks his new word processor is the best thing since sliced
bread.
,slice of 'life n [S] a representation or experience of life as it
really is: one of those modern dramas that tries to give you a
slice of life rather than just entertain you
slick¹ /slɪk/ adj 1 skilful and effective, so as to seem easy: The
dancers gave a very slick performance. 2 clever, effective, or
able to persuade but often not honest: a slick salesman/
advertising campaign | slick sales talk 3 (especially of roads
or tyres) smooth and slippery 4 AmE apprec very good: a slick
new car | These new programs are really slick. —ly adv
—ness n [U]
slick² n 1 infml an OIL SLICK 2 AmE for GLOSSY MAGAZINE
slick³ v
slick sthg. ↔ down phr v [T] to make (especially hair)
smooth and shiny with water, oil etc