,six-footer n infml a tall person, more than six feet (1.83 metres) tall
Six Nations 'Championship, the a Rugby Union competition that takes place every year between teams from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, and Italy. Each team plays each other once. If one team defeats all the other teams, then it wins the 'Grand Slam'. If one of the HOME NATIONS (=England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) defeats the other three home nations, it wins the 'Triple Crown'. The winner of the game between England and Scotland wins the Calcutta Cup.
'six-pack n 1 a set of six bottles or CANs of a drink sold in a paper or plastic case for carrying: He was carrying a six-pack (of beer). 2 six-pack stomach infmi humor a man's stomach with strong muscles that can be clearly seen, and no fat, which is thought to be very attractive
six·pence /'sɪkspəns/ n [C;U] (in Britain until 1971) (a small silver-coloured coin worth) the sum of six pennies (PENNY); 6d
'six-,shooter also six-gun /'siksgan/ n AmE a REVOLVER (small gun) holding six bullets
six·teen /ˌsɪkˈstiːn/ determiner, n, pron 1 (the number) 16 → see TABLE 1 2 → see also AGE OF CONSENT ︷th determiner, n, pron, adv
six'teenth note n AmE for SEMIQUAVER
sixth /sɪksθ/ determiner, n, pron, adv 6th → see TABLE 1
'sixth form n [C+sing./pl. v] the highest level in a British SECONDARY school. Students usually go into the sixth form at the age of about 16 and stay there for two years, preparing to take their A LEVELS. Sixth-form students usually have more freedom in what they wear, in their choice of activities etc, than students lower down the school → see also LOWER SIXTH, UPPER SIXTH —sixth-former n; I'll be a sixth-former next year. → see Feature on page A12
,sixth-form 'college n a British STATE SCHOOL for students over the age of 16. Some young people prefer to go to a sixth-form college because they feel it gives them more freedom than an ordinary school. → see Feature on page A12
sixth 'sense n [S] an ability to know things without using any of the five ordinary senses: A sixth sense told me that I was being followed.
six·ties /'sɪkstɪz/ n [P] 1 [the] also '60s the 1960s (=the years from 1960 to 1969)
CULTURAL NOTE The sixties are remembered as being a time of great social change, when young people in many Western countries began developing a new set of values and opinions that were very different from the traditional ones their parents had. Young people, especially students, took part in political protests against the VIETNAM WAR and against war in general. People began to become more concerned about equal rights for women and for people of different races. In the US and UK young people began using drugs for pleasure, and they also had much more sexual freedom than their parents, especially because of 'the pill' (see Cultural Note at PILL). The music and clothes of the period also expressed their new ways of thinking. The UK was an important centre of music and fashion and, because of this, people sometimes talk about the 'swinging sixties'. Some people, especially politicians, now criticize the sixties as a time when many traditional ideas, for example regarding marriage or education, were replaced by modern ideas, and these people blame the sixties for many of today's social problems. Other people see the sixties as a time of freedom, enjoyment, and social progress. → see also HIPPIE, PERMISSIVE SOCIETY and see Feature on page A8
2 in his/her/their sixties aged from 60 to 69: 'How old is she?' 'I guess she's (somewhere) in her sixties.' 3 [the] the numbers from 60 to 69, especially when used to measure temperature: a cool summer day with the temperature in the low sixties | the upper sixties
six·ty /'sɪksti/ determiner, n, pron (the number) 60 → see TABLE 1 —tieth determiner n pron adv
sixty-four-thousand-dollar 'question, $64,000 question n [the] infmi the most important and difficult question, for which the answer may not yet be known; the question on whose answer a very great deal depends: 'Are you taking Pam out tonight?' 'Ah, that's the sixty-four-thousand dollar question!'
CULTURAL NOTE This expression started to be used because of a television GAME SHOW (=a show in which people play games or answer questions to win prizes). The PRESENTER (=person who asks the questions) used these words just before he asked the last and most difficult question.
Sixty 'Minutes a US television news programme made by CBS, which deals with several subjects in detail in each programme
, sixty-nine n [U] a sexual position in which each partner can touch the other's sex organs with the lips at the same time
size¹ /sarz/ n 1 [C;U] (a degree of) bigness or smallness: What's the size of your patio? (=how big is it?) | Houses come (=are built) in all shapes and sizes. | They are trying to estimate the size of this potential market for their new product. | Their army is about half the size of ours. | The amount of interest you pay depends on the size of the loan. 2 [U] bigness: The company is able to keep its prices down simply because of its size. | None of the jewels were of any size. (=they were quite small) | You should see the size of their dog! (=it's very big) 3 [C] any of a set of standard measures according to which goods are produced: We stock dresses in women's and children's sizes. | I take a size 8 shoe. | What size bottle would you like? The small size is 55p and the large size is 85p. 4 size isn't important a phrase people sometimes use jokingly, thinking of a well-known piece of advice to men who are worried about the size of their PENIS. Or they may also say something like you know what they say about size ... 5 that's about the size of it infml that's a fair statement of the matter 6 -sized /sarzd// also -size — of the stated size or number: a medium-sized car | bite-size chunks | a good-sized (=large) crowd → see also cut someone down to size (CUT DOWN), try something for size (TRY)
size² v [T] 1 to make (an object) a certain size 2 to SORT things out according to their size 3 to establish the size of: Those apples have not been sized yet.
size sthg./sbdy. ⇔ up phr v [T] to consider and form an opinion or judgment about: He sized the situation up at a glance and took immediate action.
size $ ^{3} $ n [U] a thick liquid mixture made from glue, flour, and other materials, used for giving stiffness and a hard shiny surface to paper, cloth etc
size $ ^{4} $ v [T] to cover or treat with SIZE
size·a·ble, sizable /'saizəbəl/ adj rather large; CONSIDERABLE: a sizeable income
Size·well /'saizwəl/ a NUCLEAR POWER station in Suffolk, eastern England. There are two power stations there, the older Sizewell A and the newer Sizewell B.
siz•zle /'sɪzəl/ v [l] to make a sound like water falling on hot metal or food cooking in hot fat: The meat was sizzling in the pan. —sizzle n [U]
siz-zler /'sizəler/ n infl a very hot day: Yesterday was a real sizzler!
SJ written abbrev. for SOCIETY OF JESUS; used after the name of a priest to show that he is a JESUIT: Fr Patrick Molloy, SJ
ska /skaː/ n [U] a kind of popular music from the West Indies, similar to REGGAE
skag, scag /skæg/ n [U] slang for HEROIN
skate¹ /skeit/ n 1 also ice skate — either of a pair of boots with metal blades fitted to the bottom, allowing the wearer to move quickly on ice 2 a ROLLER SKATE 3 get/put one's skates on infml to move, act, or work quickly; hurry
skate² v [l] ↑ to move on skates: We skated across the frozen lake. | I'm going skating. 2 (skate) on thin ice inml (to be) doing something risky ~~er n
skate over/round sthg. phr v [T] to avoid treating seriously; fail to give the necessary attention to: Instead of trying to solve the problems, the committee skated over them.
skate through (sthng.) phr v [l;T] inml to gain easy success (in): She skated through her English exam.