Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

(Amelia) #1
This is silo drippings. The old-timer
called his moonshine “silo drippings.”

silvern. money. What kind of silver is
that going to take? I have some silver
stashed at home if you need it.


silver bullet and magic bulletn. a spe-
cific, fail-safe solution to a problem.
(From the notion that a bullet made of
silver is required to shoot a werewolf.) 
I’m not suggesting that the committee has
provided us with a silver bullet, only that
their advice was timely and useful. 
Okay, I’ve got the silver bullet you need
for this. Your vote on the pork storage units
for my district would be greatly appreci-
ated, of course.


silver goosen. a proctoscope. (Medical.
See also goose.) The patient seems to
have a real phobia about the silver goose.
When the nurse brought in the silver
goose, the patient nearly fainted.


simmer (down) 1. in. to reduce one’s
anger. Now, now! Just simmer! Cool it!
Simmer down, you guys. 2. in. to get
quiet. I waited till things began to sim-
mer down, and then I started. Hey, sim-
mer down to a dull roar!


simoleon[sI”moli@n] n. a dollar. (Under-
world.) How many simoleons is this go-
ing to cost me? For only one simoleon,
you get a ticket to the greatest show on
earth.


Simon Legree[“saIm@n l@”gri] n. a very
hard taskmaster; a hard boss. (From the
name of the slave driver in Uncle Tom’s
Cabin.) She’s a regular Simon Legree. 
Ask Simon Legree if I will be able to stop
work and go home for breakfast now.


simpn. a simpleton. You are such a simp!
Why did some simp feel it necessary to
do this?


sinn. synthetic marijuana. (Drugs. From
synthetic.) Most of this stuff the kids put
down good money for is not sin, but angel
dust. Bart was caught up in the quest for
sin.


sin-binn. a van fitted with bedding as a
place for necking and lovemaking. 
Wally said he was saving his money to buy


a sin-bin so he could have more fun on
dates. Some rusty old sin-bin was
parked in front of the house when I got
there.

singin. to inform (on someone). (Under-
world.) Rocko knew the stoolie would
sing. He had to do something to stop her.
Ziggy would never sing. He’s a champ.

singedGo to scorched.

single 1. n. one dollar; a dollar bill. I
don’t have enough singles in the register
to get me through the morning. I got a
couple of singles I can lend you. 2. n. an
unmarried person. (Usually plural.) 
I’m holding a little party for singles. 
Todd’s a single—just recently.

sinktv. to swallow some food or drink. 
Here, sink a bite of this stuff. Larry
stopped at a tavern to sink a short one.

sinkern. a doughnut. This sinker must be
four days old. All our sinkers are brought
in fresh on Monday.

sink one’s teeth into somethingGo to
get one’s teeth into something.

sinse and sense (bud)[sInts and “sEnts
(b@d)] n. seedless marijuana. (Drugs.
From Spanish sinsemilla, “seedless.”) 
Where’s the sinse I was saving? Sense
bud is all that Tiffany will touch.

sip 1. n. a puff of a marijuana cigarette.
(Drugs.) How about a sip of your joint?
He took a big sip and held it so long he
almost turned blue. 2. tv. & in. to take a
puff of a marijuana cigarette. He
sipped a big one, stopped a minute, then
spoke. The alley was populated by a
bunch of teeny-boppers sipping away the
afternoon.

sipstern. a tippler; a drunkard. The old
lady is a sipster who says she drinks a lit-
tle wine to help her arthritis. Most sip-
sters have a really fine excuse like that.

sis[sIs] n. sister. (Also a term of address
and a common pet name for one’s sister.)
Come on, sis. We’re going to be late. 
Well, sis, good luck.

sis
Free download pdf