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Scarlet Pimpernel, The
offend (someone's) feelings of what is right or proper: I was absolutely scandalized to hear that the council has demolished that lovely old building.
scan·dal·mon·ger /'skændəlˌmʌŋər ||-ˌmɔŋ -, -ˌmʌŋ-/ n derog a person who spreads scandal
scan·dal·ous /'skændələs/ adj offensive to feelings of what is right or proper: It's scandalous that you still haven't been paid. —ly adv
Scan·di·na·vi·a /ˌskændɪ'neɪviə/ an area of North Europe consisting of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland
Scan·di·na·vi·an¹ /ˌskændɪ'neɪviən/ n someone from the area of Northern Europe that consists of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and usually Finland and Iceland
Scandinavian² adj from or connected with Scandinavia or its language: Scandinavian languages
scan·ner /'skænər/ n an instrument for scanning (SCAN): Using a scanner, we can look at the unborn foetus in the womb.
scan·sion /'skænʃən/ n [U] (the act of showing) the way a line of a poem SCANS
scant /skænt/ adj hardly enough: He paid scant attention to what was said.
scant·y /'skænti/ adj hardly (big) enough in size or quantity; almost too small, few etc; MEAGRE: a scanty breakfast —ily adv: photos of scantily-clad girls (=with hardly any clothes on) —iness n [U]
Sca·pa Flow /ˌskɑːpə 'fləʊ/ an area of sea between two of the ORKNEY Islands in northern Scotland. It was an important base for the British navy during World War I, and 71 German warships which had surrendered (SURRENDER) were sunk there when the war ended.
scape·goat /'skeɪpɡəʊt/ n a person or thing taking the blame for the fault of others, often unwillingly → compare WHIPPING BOY
scap·u·la /'skæpjʊlə/ n med for SHOULDER BLADE
scar¹ /skɑːr/ n a mark remaining on the skin or on an organ from a wound, cut etc: That cut will leave a nasty scar. | Scar tissue began to form over the wound. | (fig.) The country still bears the scars of the recent war.
scar² v -rr- [T] to mark with a scar: (fig.) The terrible experience had scarred him for life. (=had a deep and long-lasting effect on him)
scar·ab /'skærəb/ n 1 also 'scarab beetle a large black BEETLE 2 a representation of this, often in a small stone, used in ancient Egypt for decoration and as a sign of life after death
scarce¹ /skeəs||skeərs/ adj 1 not much or many compared with what is wanted; hard to find; not common: Good fruit is scarce in winter, and costs a lot. → compare COMMON 2 make oneself scarce infml to go away or keep away, especially in order to avoid trouble → see RARE (USAGE)
scarce² adv lit hardly; scarcely: I could scarce believe my eyes.
scarce·ly /'skeəsli||'skeər-/ adv 1 hardly; almost not: Scarcely had he arrived when he had to leave again. | She spoke scarcely a word of English/scarcely spoke a word of English. 2 (almost) certainly not: 'You should have gone in.' 'Well, I could scarcely have gone in there while they were undressing, could I!' → see HARDLY (USAGE)
scar·ci·ty /'skeəsɪti||'skeər-/ n [C;U(of)] a state of being scarce; lack: the present scarcity of labour
care¹ /skeər/ v 1 [T] to cause sudden fear to; frighten: Don't let the noise scare you; it's only the wind. 2 [T+obj+adv/prep] to cause to go or do something by frightening: If you make a noise you'll scare off the animals. | The high price is scaring away possible buyers. | The announcement scared many politicians into voting for the change in the law. 3 [I] to be frightened: I don't scare easily, you know! 4 scare the hell/shit out of taboo to frighten extremely → see also SCARED, SCARY
scare sthg. up phr v [T(from)] infml, especially AmE to make from things that are hard to find or not easy to use: I'll see if I can scare up a meal from the scraps of food in the kitchen.
care² n 1 [S] a sudden feeling of fear: What a scare you gave me, appearing suddenly in the dark! 2 [C] a usually mistaken or unreasonable public fear: There's been quite a scare about the possible side effects of this new drug. | a recent series of bomb scares
/'skeəkrəʊ||'skeər-/ n 1 an object (often old clothes hung on sticks) in the shape of a person, set up in a field to keep birds away from crops 2 infml, usually humor derog a very (thin and) untidy-looking person
scared /skeəd||skeərd/ adj 1 [(of)] full of fear; frightened: their scared faces | I'm scared of snakes. | Why won't you come on the trip? Are you scared? | [+to-v/(that)] I'm scared to fly in a plane/scared that it might crash. 2 to be scared stiff/silly/(half) to death/out of one's wits to be extremely frightened → see FRIGHTENED (USAGE)
scared·y cat /'skeədi kæt||'skeər-/ n infml derog (used especially by children) a scared person
scare·mon·ger /'skeəˌmʌŋər ||'skeərˌmɑŋ-, -ˌmʌŋ-/ n derog a person who spreads reports intended to cause a public SCARE; ALARMIST
'scare story n a story in the newspapers or which people are telling others which makes people worried about something which is not really worrying: All this stuff in the papers about the dangers of eating eggs, they're just scare stories, aren't they?
'scare tactics n [P] methods of persuading people to do something by frightening them: Employers had used scare tactics to force a return to work.
scare·y /'skeəri/ adj SCARY
scarf¹ /skɑːf||skɑːrf/ n pl. scarfs or scarves /skɑːvz||skɑːrvz/ a piece of cloth, usually long and narrow or sometimes (especially for women) square, for wearing round the neck, head, or shoulders for warmth or decoration
scarf² v [I(up/down)] AmE infml eat eagerly; SCOFF: We scarfed down three pizzas after the movie.
Scar·face /'skɑːfeɪs||'skɑːr-/ → see CAPONE, AL
Scarfe, Ger·ald /skɑːf||skɑːrf, 'dʒerəld/ (1936-) a British CARTOONIST who draws political CARTOONS for newspapers and magazines. He has also done DRAWINGS for ANIMATED films such as Pink Floyd's The Wall and Hercules.
Scar·gill, Arthur /'skɑːgɪl||'skɑːr-/ (1938-) a British TRADE UNION leader, President of the National Union of Mineworkers since 1981. He is remembered especially for leading Britain's coal miners in a long but unsuccessful STRIKE (=occasion when workers stop working in order to protest or ask for higher pay) in 1984 to 1985, and for his strong opposition to Margaret THATCHER. He is a very effective public speaker, and in the 1990s he often criticized the leaders of the Labour Party and said that they had given up their LEFT-WING principles.
scar·i·fy /'skeərɪfaɪ, 'skærɪfaɪ/ v [T] 1 to break up and loosen the surface of (a road or field) with a pointed tool 2 med to make small cuts on (an area of skin) with a sharp knife 3 lit to attack fiercely in words —fication /ˌskeərfɪ'keɪʃən, ˌskær-/ n [U]
Scar·lat·ti, Do·men·i·co /skɑː'læti||skɑːr-, dɒ'menɪkəʊ||doʊ-/ (1685-1757) an Italian COMPOSER who wrote over 500 pieces of music for the HARPSICHORD
scar·let /'skɑːlət||-ær-/ adj having a very bright red colour: His face was scarlet with embarrassment. —scarlet n [U]
,scarlet 'fever also scar·la·ti·na /ˌskɑːlə'tiːnə||-ær-/ n [U] a serious and easily-spread disease, especially of children, marked by a painful throat and red spots on the skin
,scarlet 'pimpernel n a PIMPERNEL with bright red flowers
Scarlet Pimpernel, The the main character in the adventure story The Scarlet Pimpernel (1905) by Baroness Orczy. The 'Scarlet Pimpernel' is the name used by Sir Percy Blakeney, an Englishman who uses many clever DISGUISES (=ways of changing your clothes and appearance so that