Simpsons, The
1294
position as king) so that he could marry her. She then
became the DUCHESS OF WINDSOR. → see also ABDICATION,
THE
**Simpsons, The** /'sɪmpsənz/ a humorous US television
CARTOON programme about a family called Simpson, con-
sisting of: Homer, the father, Marge, the mother, Bart, the
son, Lisa, the daughter, and Maggie, the baby. The charac-
ters are yellow with big heads and big eyes, and Marge has
blue hair that sticks up high above her head. Bart is clever
but lazy, and does not like school. Lisa is very intelligent,
reads a lot, and does well at school. The children argue and
fight a lot. Marge takes care of them all and tries to stop the
arguing and fighting. Homer loves his children but spends a
lot of time watching TV, eating, and drinking beer. He works
in a NUCLEAR POWER station. Some people disapprove of the
programme and think that it gives a bad impression of
American family life. But other people think it shows the
problems and worries that real families experience, which
the 'perfect' families in some other television shows do not.
**sim·u·la·crum** /ˌsɪmjʊˈleɪkrəm/ n pl. **-crums** or **-cra** /-krə/
[(of)] lit or fml a likeness or representation
**sim·u·late** /'sɪmjʊleɪt/ v 1 [T] fml or tech to give the effect or
appearance of; IMITATE: A sheet of metal was shaken to simu-
late the noise of thunder. 2 to make a working model or
representation of (a situation or process): We tried to simu-
late what would happen if there were a worldwide recession.
**sim·u·lat·ed** /'sɪmjʊleɪtɪd/ adj fml or tech made to look, feel
etc, like the real thing: This coat is made of simulated fur; it's
not real mink. | a simulated nuclear explosion
**sim·u·la·tion** /ˌsɪmjʊˈleɪʃən/ n [C;U(of)] 1 fml or tech (a) repre-
sentation; IMITATION 2 a model or representation of a course
of events in business, science etc, especially by computer
calculation, to study the effects of possible future changes or
decisions: an audio-visual simulation of the beginning of the
universe
**sim·u·la·tor** /'sɪmjʊleɪtər/ n an apparatus which allows a
person in training to feel what real conditions are like, for
example in traffic or in an aircraft, spacecraft etc: a flight
simulator
**sim·ul·cast** /'sɪməlkɑːst||'saɪməlkæst/ v **simulcast** [T usually
passive] AmE to broadcast (a programme) on television and
radio at the same time, so as to take advantage of the better
sound quality on radio: The concert is being simulcast live on
Channel 11 and WFMT.—**simulcast** n
**sim·ul·ta·ne·ous** /ˌsɪməlˈteɪniəs ǁ ˌsaɪ-/ adj happening or
done at exactly the same time: There was a flash of lightning
and a simultaneous crash of thunder. | a simultaneous broad-
cast of the concert on TV and radio —→**-ly** adv: Two books on
the same subject appeared simultaneously. —→**-ness**, **-ity**
/ˌsɪməlˈteɪnɪti ˌsaɪ-/ n [U] fml
**sin¹** /sɪn/ n 1 [C] an offence against God or a religious law:
The Bible says adultery is a sin. | the sin of pride | to commit a
sin → compare CRIME 2 [U] fml disobedience to God: Which
of us is without sin? 3 [C] infml, especially humor something that
is regarded as wrong or shameful: I think it's a sin, all this
money they're wasting on the new leisure centre. 4 for one's
sins humor (used for suggesting jokingly that something is
rather like a punishment): I'm the local party organizer, for
my sins. 5 the sins of the father bad actions done by
someone in the past, which cause trouble for someone else
in the present 6 live in sin old-fash euph or humor (of two
unmarried people) to live together as if married → see also
SEVEN DEADLY SINS 7 your sins will find you out saying your
bad actions will be discovered, and you will be punished for
them. This phrase is often used humorously: You bad 'un,
your sins will find you out! —→**-less** adj
**sin²** v -nn- [(against)] to break God's laws; do wrong: 'We have
sinned against You and against our fellow men.' (prayer) →
see also SINNER
**sin³** abbrev. for SINE
**Si·nai** /'saɪnaɪ/ the part of northeast Egypt to the east of the
Gulf of Suez and the Suez Canal
**Sinai, Mount** a mountain in Sinai in northeast Egypt on
which, according to the Old Testament of the Bible, MOSES
received the TEN COMMANDMENTS from God
**Si·na·tra, Frank** /sɪ'nɑːtrə/ (1915–98) a US singer and film
actor, who first became successful in the 1940s, and is
known especially for the song My Way. He was one of the
most famous and successful singers of the 20th century, and
is sometimes called 'Old Blue Eyes'. He was a member of the
"Rat Pack", a group of Hollywood stars which included Dean
MARTIN and Sammy DAVIS Jr. People sometimes joke that
someone has 'retired (RETIRE) more times than Frank
Sinatra', because he said several times that he intended to
retire, but always returned to give public performances. →
see colour photo on page A31
**Sin·bad, Sindbad** /'sɪnbæd/ the main character in the story
of Sinbad the Sailor from The ARABIAN NIGHTS, who has many
adventures at sea → see also ROC, OLD MAN OF THE SEA
**'sin bin** n [S] BE infml a place away from the playing area where
players in some sports, for example ICE HOCKEY, are sent if
they break certain rules, especially for fighting
**since¹** /sɪns/ adv [(used with the present perfect or past perfect
tenses)] 1 at a time between then and now: Her husband died
ten years ago but she has since remarried. | I saw him on
Wednesday, but I haven't spoken to him since. | The 1948
election was unlike any other election, before or since. 2 from
then until now: He came to England three years ago and has
lived here ever since. 3 before now; ago: I've long since
forgotten what our quarrel was about.
**since²** prep 1 (used with the present perfect or past perfect
tenses). from (a point in past time) until now; during the
period after: I haven't seen her since last week/since her
illness. | Until last week I hadn't seen her since 1973. | The book
has sold over a million copies since its publication. | It's a long
time since breakfast. → compare FOR 2 since when AmE infml
(used in questions to express surprise and disapproval): Since
when do you eat with your elbows on the table? | Since when
am I supposed to keep track of her every movement?
**since³** conj 1 (used with the present perfect or past perfect
tenses). a) after the past time when: It's been years since I
enjoyed myself so much as last night. | When I met him last
week, it was the first time we had seen each other since we were
at school. | Since leaving Paris, we've visited Brussels and
Amsterdam. b) continuously (and up to the present time)
from the time when: We've been friends (ever) since we met
at school. 2 as; as it is a fact that; because: Since you can't
answer the question, perhaps we'd better ask someone else. |
He must have shut the door since he was the last one to leave.
**sin·cere** /sɪn'sər/ adj (of a person, feelings, or behaviour)
without any deceit or falseness; real, true, or honest; GENUINE:
a sincere apology | He has a sincere admiration for his oppo-
nent's qualities. | I don't think she was completely sincere in
what she said. → opposite INSINCERE
**sin·cere·ly** /sɪn'sɪəlɪ-'sɪər-/ adv 1 in a sincere way; truly: I
sincerely hope your father will be well again soon. | a sincerely
held belief 2 Yours sincerely/Sincerely yours (the usual
polite way of ending a formal letter when addressing some-
one by their actual name) → see YOURS (USAGE)
**sin·cer·i·ty** /sɪn'serɪti/ n [U] the quality of being sincere;
honesty and lack of deceit: I don't doubt her sincerity. | I may
say in all sincerity that your support has been very valuable.
→ opposite INSINCERITY
**Sin·clair, Sir Clive** /'sɪŋkleər, klaɪv/ (1940–) a British
businessman and inventor of electronic equipment, such as
POCKET CALCULATORS, very small televisions, and basic com-
puters that were cheap and bought by many people in the
late 1970s and 1980s.
**Sinclair, Up·ton** /'ʌptən/ (1878–1968) a US writer best known
for The Jungle, a novel about the MEAT-PACKING industry in
Chicago, which showed that the workers were badly treated
and the food was not clean and was likely to cause disease
**Sinclair C5** /ˌsɪŋkleə siː 'faɪvl-kleər-/ trademark a type of
very small car for one person, invented by Sir Clive SINCLAIR
in 1985. It had three wheels and used an electric BATTERY.
The C5 never became popular and very few were sold, but
people often made jokes about how small and slow it was.
**Sind·bad** /'sɪnbæd/ → see SINBAD
**Sin·den, Sir Don·ald** /'sɪndən, 'dɒnəld||'dɑːr-/ (1923–) a
British actor known for his UPPER-CLASS voice, who was in
several British television programmes in the 1980s and
1990s. His films include The Cruel Sea (1953) and The Day of
the Jackal (1973). He has also acted in many plays in the
theatre.