took it from the door.” 2. (euph.) survive a person: My dear wife is, I fear, frail in health—though I trust and pray she may see me out . 3. outlast smb. in a drinking contest: He could see the Dundee people out any day, and walk home afterwards without staggering. see someone through • see through someone see someone through—help smb. come through the difficul- ties; give a person support until the end: Her thoughts flew off to Ralph recalling with pleasure his promise to “see her through .” see through someone—understand the real nature and motives of a person: The real reason he didn’t like her was because she could see through him, and he knew it. see something through • see through something see something through—1. continue to work on smth. until it is completed: I had taken on a task, and I was bound to see it through . 2. see the whole of a film, play, etc.: I’d much rather see the film through from the beginning, so let’s go to the second showing. see through something —understand the true nature of smth.; not be deceived by smth.: My mother is a very astute woman: she saw right through John’s seeming politeness. See also: look something through / look through something. see something with half an eye • with half an eye on something see something with half an eye—see or understand smth. very clearly or easily: The teacher could see with half an eye that Jim was going to have trouble with some boys who disagreed with him. with half an eye on something—(also: with one eye on some- thing ) directing one’s attention only partly to smth. (while preoccupied with smth. else): I spent the day putting in the web pages with half an eye on the TV. see stars • star-gaze see stars—be dazed as a result of a blow on the head: She fetched me a slap in the face that made me see stars . Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase get stars in one’s eyes— be fascinated with smth.; be cap- tivated by impractical ideas: I only hired people that got stars in their eyes when they heard about the notebook computer idea. star-gaze —1. gaze intently at smth.: He could not remove his eyes from my face. Lady Norfolk, observing it, asked him whether he intended to sup, or to stargaze all night? 2. have idle thoughts; daydream: It may well be that surgery will be only reparative or replacement in nature. One can but star gaze at present. see the light • see the light of day see the light—1. (of a book, etc.) be published: Christopher Isherwood’s diaries are now at last to see the light . 2. realize one’s mistakes; understand smth. after thinking about it: He was waiting for me to beg him to forgive me and tell him that I had seen the light . 3. believe that a difficult part of a situation is finally over: Your company is well worth the time and effort we are putting into this program. We can already see the light . Note: The expression does not fully correlate in meaning with the phrase see the light at the end of the tunnel—(also: see light at the end of the tunnel) = see the light 3: An official said he saw light at the end of the tunnel and firefighters said today they welcomed a weekend weather forecast. see the light of day—1. = see the light 1: I continued to write and publish short stories but it was nearly twenty years before my next book saw the light of day . 2. be born: When I was born, the town was on the Czech-German border, now it is on the Czech-Polish border, without moving from where it was when I saw the light of day . see through a glass darkly • see through rose- colored glasses see through a glass darkly—(the Bible) is used to say that humans have a fundamentally clouded, fractured, and limited perception of reality (also: see in a mirror, dimly): Here is another key principle of all history-writing: The historian, by force of his human limitations, sees through a glass darkly . see through rose-colored glasses—said of an unduly cheerful or optimistic view of things: Depressed people are the most realistic, they have lost most of their ability to see through rose-colored glasses . see you in the soup • see you in the soup line see you in the soup(Austral. sl.) see you around (a form of farewell): Cheers all, see you in the soup a few weeks from now. Have a great vacation! Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase be in the soup—(coll.) be in a difficult situation: The school finally phoned my mom and asked why I was absent. Boy, I really thought I was in the soup ! see you in the soup line —a sarcastic prediction that one might find himself on welfare (originally of a queue of poor people waiting to receive food as charity): Forty years of debt based government economics ain’t going to make a lie the truth. I’ll see you in the soup line in 15–20 years. seeded raisins • seedless raisins seeded raisins —raisins without seeds, made from grapes from which the seeds have been removed before or after drying: Seeded raisins are more difficult to find than the common seedless variety carried on most market shelves. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase seeded grapes— a variety of grapes with seeds: Although they’re not as popular as the seedless varieties, seeded grapes have a much fuller flavor. seedless raisins —raisins without seeds, made from a variety of grapes without seeds: In the school lunchbox, try replacing crisps by a little packet of seedless raisins or a banana. select committee • selection committee select committee—a committee consisting of a small number of members, selected to investigate smth.: The select commit - tee studying motorized snow vehicles spent the better part of a day’s sitting listening to an expert. selection committee—a committee appointed to choose a par- ticular individual or individuals: If George had been a member of the Olympic Games Selection Committee , he would have signed this woman up immediately. self-righteous • self-righting self-righteous —sure of the superiority of one’s personal beliefs and actions: It is in this manner, and not with a self- righteous attitude, that we should approach the incidents which sometimes occur. self-righting —(usually of a boat) able to turn right side up after being capsized: They initially planned to market the res- cue tool, and Peter’s design for a self-righting life raft. sell oneself to someone • sell someone out to someone sell oneself to someone—1. present oneself in a favorable light; convince other people of one’s merits: You’re selling yourself to your employer, and attitude and dress are really all you need for that. Cf.: sell oneself short—underestimate oneself: My parents have always taught me to take pride in everything I do and not to sell myself short . 2. sacrifice one’s principles, – 291 – sell oneself to someone