the article until a deadline had galvanized her into putting words on paper. 3. (coll..) examine or investigate a case, etc.: The police are still sitting on the mystery of the stolen jew- els. sit knee by knee • sit knee to knee sit knee by knee —sit side by side and close together: Let me break the secret: in the evening at the bar the trainer and the black haired beauty sit knee by knee . sit knee to knee —sit facing each other with the knees touch- ing: During the session, couples were asked to turn to each other and, sitting knee to knee , talk about various aspects of their marriage. sit loose to something • sit loose upon someone sit loose to something—be indifferent to or independent of smth.: Buchan was delighted, especially because a university member could sit fairly loose to party. sit loose upon someone—said of opinions, principles, etc. that a person holds loosely to and can easily abandon: He whose opinions sat loose upon him, was always deemed a bad, and generally a weak, man. sit up with someone • sit with someone sit up with someone—keep a person company remaining late out of bed: Charlotte sat up with her late at night and the two of them watched the snow fall together. sit with someone—1. stay with smb. who is in need of care: Brigi sat with her boys in the hospital when they were sick, did their speech therapy with them, helped them with home- work. 2. (of things) suit a person; be accepted by smb.: How will it sit with the bishops if Charles chooses to marry a woman with whom he’s been living in sin. skeleton at the feast, a • skeleton in the cupboard, a skeleton at the feast, a—a person or thing that in the midst of pleasures acts as a reminder of life’s troubles: However, all’s well that ends well, and I haven’t come back to be a skeleton at the feast . skeleton in the cupboard, a —(also U.S.: skeleton in the closet, a) an embarrassing personal secret or discreditable fact: One doesn’t necessarily have to have a skeleton in the cupboard to be damaged by rumor. ski race • ski run ski race —(also: skiing race) a contest of speed between skiers: There should be a competent course patrol for all ski races made up from the personnel of the club. ski run—1. an instance of traveling on skis: It is on one of these long ski runs alone that a man can think out his problems best. 2. a slope or route prepared for skiing: The climb was steep as a downhill ski run . skin a cat • skin the cat skin a cat—1. (coll.) be a miser; spend as little as possible (also: skin a flint): She was very economical and wasted noth- ing, some said, “she would skin a cat for its hide and tallow.” 2. accomplish smth. (in allusion to the saying “there’s more than one way to skin a cat”): “The poster of Lenin is not a political statement,” he assures students, “just a reminder that there are many views of how to skin a cat .” skin the cat—(U.S.) perform a gymnastic exercise involving passing the legs between the arms while hanging by the hands: Some trees linger in our memories as old friends, from whose branches we have swung and “skinned-the-cat .” skin someone for something • skin someone of something skin someone for something—(hyperbolic) punish or repri- mand a person severely for an offense, etc. (also: skin someone alive for something): I don’t think we should mention this unfortunate encounter to your father. He would skin me for compromising you. skin someone of something—(sl.) cheat a person of money or property by swindling: Kyranians required agile minds to deal with all the caravans…. Otherwise the shrewd traders would have skinned them of all their goods. skin-deep • skinny dip skin-deep —1. involving a surface only: We sent for a doctor … and on his examining Pagolo, we discovered that the wound was only skin-deep . 2. having little substance; superficial: The technical reviews of digital cameras are skin-deep compared to the in-depth reviews by the online photography sites. skinny dip—(a consonant nominal phrase) bathing or swim- ming in the nude: “Fancy a skinny-dip ?” I giggled, gazing at the crashing waves. sky pilot • skyman sky pilot—1. a person licensed as a pilot: Hats off to these sky pilots for providing yet another valuable forest manage- ment tool. 2. (sl.) a priest; a military chaplain: At the mission you would get a sermon, say 15 minutes of religion from a sky pilot . skyman —(coll.) a paratrooper: During the days following the drop … the sky men spearheaded the drive to capture the city. sleep it off • sleep on it sleep it off—sleep until one is sober; sleep until one feels normal: Shortly after he took off, he realized he had had too much to drink and decided to pull over and sleep it off . sleep on it—think about smth. for a while before coming up with a decision: If you’re facing a problem you can’t get your head around, you might be told to sleep on it . sleep round the clock • sleep through the clock sleep round the clock—sleep for twenty-four hours: The climbers, when they returned, were so tired that they fell into bed and slept round the clock . Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase sleep around—have sexual relations with many people: As far as I could discover, he had no reputation for sleeping around . sleep through the clock—fail to be woken by a clock: I’m sorry I’m late, I slept through the clock this morning. slip off • slip out slip off —go away or leave quietly: Some say he’s slipped off , to join his friend abroad. slip out—1. = slip off: So I came downstairs without any noise and slipped out . 2. (of news, information, etc.) leak out; be revealed without intention: She did not identify her boyfriend at first but his name eventually slipped out in con- versation. slip road • slipway slip road —(UK) a road that runs parallel to a motorway, allowing to gain or lose speed safely while joining or leaving it: Temporary closure of a slip road at Carrington signals the final phase in the massive motorway widening project. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase slippery road1. a road whose smooth surface is likely to cause a vehicle to slip: Suddenly you realize there’s a large boulder lying dead ahead in your lane. You know you can’t stop in time on this slippery road . 2. a precarious course: If we embark on this slippery road , we will not keep the country. We must rid ourselves of any great-power chauvinism. – 299 – slip road