stand on the shoulders of giants
To build upon or benefit from the work of others who have come before
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Where will you be? Anywhere UK & IrelandUnited StatesOnline slangBusiness jargon
stand one's ground
Refuse to back down or give in to opposition
stand pat
To refuse to change or compromise one's position
stand shilly-shally
To hesitate or be indecisive
stand tall
Show confidence and courage in a difficult situation
stand to reason
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
stand treat
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
stand trial
to be tried in court for a crime
stand up
Defend or support something or someone
stand up and be counted
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
stand up on one's hind legs
To assert oneself or show courage
stand up to one's lick log
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
stand up with
support or defend someone
stand with
Support or show solidarity with someone
stand-still
He was run to a stand-still; i.e. till he could no longer move.
standard fare
usual or expected thing
standing
The position at a street corner, or on the kerb of a market street, regularly occupied by a costermonger, or street seller.
standing orders
Rules or instructions constantly in force, especially those by-laws of the Houses of Parliament for the conduct of proceedings which stand in force till they are rescinded or suspended. Their suspension is generally caused by a desire to hurry through a Bill with unusual expedition.
standing patterers
Men who take a stand on the kerb of a public thoroughfare, and deliver prepared speeches to effect a sale of any articles they have to vend. See PATTERER.
stangey
A tailor, a person under petticoat government,—derived from the custom of "riding the STANG," mentioned in Hudibras:—
stanley’s
Remedy, or the Way how to Reform Wandring Beggars, Thieves, &c., wherein is shewed that Sodomes Sin of Idleness is the Poverty and the Misery of this Kingdome, 4to. 1646.
star
A common abbreviation of the name of the well-known STAR AND GARTER Inn at Richmond. Clever people, who delight in altering names, call this hostelry the "Gar and Starter."
Star Chamber
A court of civil and criminal jurisdiction at Westminster, abolished in 1641, and notorious for its arbitrary proceedings, its chief activity being the punishment of such offences as the law had made no provision for.
star gazer
A horse who throws up his head; also a hedge whore.
star is a in the tail
See CYNOSURE, Ursula, St. Ursula was a C9rnish princess and, as the story says, was going to France with eleven thousand companions when the galley was driven by adverse winds to Cologne, where they were all massacred by the Huns. Nothing at all is known of these maidens beyond the fact that they were martyrs at Cologne before the 4th century.
star it
To perform as the centre of attraction, with inferior subordinates to set off one’s abilities.—Theatrical.
star lag
Breaking shop-windows, and stealing some article thereout.
Star of Bethlehem
A bulbous plant of the lily family (Ornithogallum umbellatutri), with star-shaped t white flowers. The French peasants call it La dame d'onze heures, because it opens at eleven o'clock.
Star of David
A large yellow cloth star which Jews and persons of Jewish descent were forced to wear on their clothes under the Nazi and Fascist regimes. To express his disap- proval of this racial indignity King Christian X of Denmark himself wore a Star of David during the German occupation of his country.
Star of India
A British order of knighthood, The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, instituted in 1861 by Queen Victoria as a reward for services in and for India and a means of recognizing the loyalty of native rulers. Its motto is "Heaven's Light our Guide.
star turn
The most impressive or enjoyable part of a performance or event
star vehicle
A production designed to showcase a particular star's talent
starbies
Starbucks.
Starboard and Larboard
Star- is the Anglo- Saxon steor, rudder, bord, side; meaning the right side of a ship (looking forwards).
starched
Stiff, prim, formal, affected.
starchy
Stuck-up, high-notioned, showily dressed, stiff and unbending in demeanour.
starfish
A woman (or, less commonly, a gay man) who reluctantly takes part in sexual intercourse, and lies on the back while spreading the limbs.
stark naked
Raw gin.
stark-naked
Originally STRIP-ME-NAKED, vide Randall’s Diary, 1820, raw gin.
starps
Sprats. } All these will take the s, which is now initial,
stars align
Events come together in a perfect combination
Stars and Bars
The flag of the eleven Con- federate States of America who broke away from the Union in 1860. It consisted of two broad horizontal red bars with a narrow white bar between them; in the top left corner a blue union bearing eleven white stars arranged in a circle.
Stars and Stripes
The flag of the United States
stars are aligned
Conditions are favorable for success
stars in one's eyes
Having overly optimistic or romantic ideas
start
"the START," London,—the great starting-point for beggars and tramps. This is a term also used by many of superior station to those mentioned.
start a family
To have children and begin raising them
start a fresh hare
to start a new pursuit or distraction
start off
To begin.
start out
To emerge suddenly; to jump out.
start over
To begin something again from the beginning
start to finish
from beginning to end
start with a clean sheet
Begin anew, without past mistakes or influences
start with a clean sheet of paper
Begin with no preconceptions or existing ideas
start with a clean slate
Begin anew, free from past mistakes or influences.
start with somebody
begin a relationship or interaction with someone
starter
One who leaves a jolly company, a milksop; he is no starter, he will sit longer than a hen.
starvation
Though now a recognised word, was originally slang. Its derivation is composite, and it was first introduced into the English language by Mr. Dundas, in a debate in the House of Commons on American affairs, in 1775. "I shall not," he said, "wait for the advent of STARVATION from Edinburgh to settle my judgment." From this he was always afterwards called STARVATION Dundas.—Horace Walpole’s Letters.
Starvation Dundas
Henry Dundas, Horace Lord Melville (1 740-1 8 1 1) was so called by Wai- pole, because when the Opposition denounced the Bill for restraining trade and commerce with the New England colonies (1775) on the ground that it would cause a famine in which the innocent would suffer with the guilty, he said that he was "afraid" the Bill would not have this effect. The word "starvation" was first used by Dundas.
starve'em, rob'em, and cheat'em
Stroud, Rochester, and Chatham; so called by soldiers and sailors, and not without good reason.
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