chef swings into high gear around eight o’-
clock in preparation for the theater crowd.swingmann. a drug seller; a drug connec-
tion. Bart couldn’t deliver till he met
with his swingman. Ziggy wants to be
a swingman with the mob.
swing shiftn. an evening work shift in a
factory, usually from mid-afternoon to
midnight. (See also graveyard shift.)
I don’t mind the swing shift. I’m a night
person anyway. My brother works the
swing shift, so I never get to see him.
swing with someone or somethingin. to
appreciate someone or something. (See
also swing.) Man, I can really swing
with that color. Glorious! I can really
swing with John. He and I are real close.
swipe 1. tv. to drink liquor rapidly and to
excess; to bolt a drink of liquor. Te d
swiped a quick one and ran out the door.
Fred sat at the bar and swiped two gins
and ate an egg. 2. n. moonshine;infe-
rior liquor. This swipe is gross. I’d
rather drink water. I can’t stand the
swipe they serve here. 3. tv. to steal some-
thing. Bart swiped a pack of cigarettes
from the counter. Somebody swiped my
wallet! 4. n. a blow or an act of striking
someone or something. (See also take a
swipe at someone or something.)
Bob got a nasty swipe across the face.
The cat gave the mouse a swipe with its
paw.
swish[swIS] 1. mod. overly fancy; effemi-
nate; displaying effeminacy. The lobby
of the theater was a little swish, but not of-
fensive. Who is your swish little friend?
- n. elaborate decoration; effeminacy.
There’s a little too much swish here. Get
rid of the gold drapes. What this place
needs is more swish. Hang some baubles
here and there. 3. n. a gay male. (Rude
and derogatory.) This place is full of
swishes. Let’s leave.
switchn. a switchblade knife. They
found a switch in his pocket when they
searched him. Bart was arrested for car-
rying a switch.
switched on 1. mod. alert and up-to-date;
with it. My brother is switched on and
has lots of friends. I’m not switched on.
In fact, I am pretty dull. 2. mod. excited.
I get switched on by that kind of music.
I am never switched on by raucous
music.
switcheroo[“swItS#”ru] n. a reversal; a
switching around. He pulled a
switcheroo on us and showed up at the
other door, so we missed getting his auto-
graph. She is a master at the old
switcheroo.
switch-hittern. a ballplayer who bats ei-
ther right-handed or left-handed. (Base-
ball.) Monty is a switch-hitter, but he’s
batting right-handed today. I’m not a
switch-hitter. In fact, I can hardly hit the
ball at all.
switch offin. to become oblivious to
everything. I want to go home and
switch off—just forget this whole day. I
have to switch off when I go home.
switch on 1. in. to come alive. She saw
her child and immediately switched on.
I don’t switch on until about noon. 2. in.
to become modern and participate in
current fads and events. I am too old
to switch on. Most kids I know switched
on when they went to high school. 3. in.
to get high on drugs; to begin taking LSD
or some other hallucinogens. (Drugs. See
also turn on; switched on.) One by
one, each of my friends switched on.
There was some old man who seemed to
get pleasure from getting kids to switch on.
Maybe he was a dealer.
swizzle [“swIzl] 1. tv. & in. to drink
(liquor), probably to excess; to tipple.
Have you been swizzling again? Fred’s
uncle is always swizzling a little drink. 2.
n. liquor; beer; a drink of an alcoholic
beverage. What a hot day. I could use
some swizzle. What I need is a nice cold
swizzle.
swizzled[“swIzld] mod. alcohol intoxi-
cated. Fred went out and got himself
swizzled. Man, he is really swizzled!
swizzle-stickn. a drunkard. (From the
name of a short stick used to stir an al-
coholic drink.) That guy is a swizzle-
stick. Don’t give him any more. You hadswizzle-stick