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- Rough around the edges: Not perfectly refined, somewhat crude or coarse.
- Rough diamond: Someone who might be a little gruff or uncouth, but is ultimately good-natured or possesses some redeeming quality.
- Round the bend: Insane, mad.
- Run of the mill: Average, ordinary, or standard.
- Run off one's feet: Extremely busy or overworked.
- Run out of steam: To lose energy or enthusiasm.
- Salt of the earth: A person who is thoroughly decent, honest and reliable.
- Save face: To preserve one's honor, dignity, or good reputation.
- Saved by the bell: Rescued from a difficult situation at the last moment.
- Scared stiff: Extremely frightened
- See eye to eye: To agree fully; to have the same opinion or view.
- See the light: To find the truth or to come to a realization.
- Sell like hotcakes: To sell quickly or in large quantities.
- Set in stone: Fixed or immutable; not subject to any alteration.
- Set the world on fire: To greatly impress or have a huge impact.
- Sit tight: To remain in the same place or condition; to wait patiently or calmly.
- Skeleton in the closet: A hidden shame or secret crime.
- Sleep with one eye open: To remain wary; to not fully trust.
- Slip of the tongue: An error in speaking in which a word is pronounced incorrectly, or in which something is said unintentionally.
- Small fry: Someone or something insignificant or unimportant.
- Smell a rat: To suspect trickery or deception.
- Smooth sailing: Progress without difficulty or effort.
- Snow under: To overwhelm, typically with work or information.
- Spick and span: Very clean and tidy.
- Spill the beans: Reveal a secret.
- Split hairs: To argue about inconsequential and trivial matters.
- Stab in the back: To betray someone.
- Stand one's ground: To not change one's position or opinion.
- Steal someone's thunder: To take the attention or praise for oneself that one's peer would have otherwise received.
- Stick to one's guns: To stay in a fixed or immovable position, even when faced with opposition.
- Stonewall: to obstruct or hinder any discussion.
- Straight from the horse's mouth: From an authoritative or reliable source.
- Straighten up and fly right: To begin behaving correctly or responsibly.
- Take a back seat: To assume a lesser role; to become less proactive or less critical in a situation.
- Take by storm: To captivate completely or take by surprise.
- Take the bull by the horns: To confront a problem head-on and deal with it openly.
- Take the cake: To stand out as the best or worst; to surpass all others.
- Throw in the towel: To give up; to admit defeat.
- Thumbs down: A sign of disapproval or rejection.
- Thumbs up: A sign of approval or agreement.
- Tight-lipped: Silent; unwilling to speak or express one's feelings or intentions.
- Till the cows come home: For a very long time, quite indefinitely.
- Tip of the iceberg: Small evident part or aspect of something largely hidden.
- Top dog: A person who is dominant or at the top in a situation or group.
- Turn over a new leaf: To make a fresh start; to reform oneself.
- Under one's belt: Already achieved or secured.
- Under the table: Illegally, or secretively.
- Up in arms: Extremely upset or angry; ready to protest vigorously.
- Vale of tears: A trying or miserable state or condition.
- Walk on eggshells: To be extremely cautious about one's words or actions.
- Waste not, want not: If one is not wasteful then one will not be in need.
- What's done is done: There's no changing the past; past events cannot be altered.
- When in Rome, do as the Romans do: One should adopt the customs of the place to which one has moved.
- Whistle in the dark: To attempt to stay cheerful in difficult times.
- Wild goose chase: A hopeless quest or pursuit of something unattainable.
- With bells on: With enthusiasm; ready or eager to participate.
- With flying colors: With great or total success.
- With open arms: Warmly; with enthusiasm; with a warm welcome.
- Worth one's salt: Competent, skilled, especially in relation to one's job or task.
- X marks the spot: Used to indicate a precise location.
- Year in, year out: Year after year, consistency over time.
- Zero in on: To direct all of one's attention or focus on a particular object or activity.
- Zip one's lip: Keep quiet, withhold comment.
