• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Shiite (or Shi’ite). Member of the Shia branch of Islam.

Shikoku. Japanese island.

shiksa. (Yid.) Disparaging term for a non-Jewish girl.

shillelagh. Irish cudgel; pronounced shi-lay'-lee.

Shinawatra, Thaksin. (1949–) Former prime minister of Thailand, deposed in coup in 2006.

Sholokov, Mikhail. (1905–1984) Russian novelist; awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in 1965.

Shostakovich, Dmitri. (1906–1975) Russian composer.

shriek.

shriveled, shriveling.

shrove. Past tense of shrive, to give confession.

Shrove Tuesday. The day before Ash Wednesday. Shrovetide is the three days before Ash Wednesday.

Shubert Theatre, New York City.

Shultz, George. (1920–) American statesman.

Shute, Nevil. Pen name of Nevil Shute Norway (1899–1960), British novelist.

Sibelius, Johan Julius Christian. (1865–1957) Finnish composer.

sibilant. Hissing.

Sibylline.

sic. (Lat.) Thus. Used, usually in square brackets, to show that a word or passage is being quoted exactly despite any errors or infelicities it may contain.

Sichuan. Chinese province formerly known as Szechwan or Szechuan; capital Chengdu.

sic transit gloria mundi. (Lat.) “So passes the glory of the world.”

Sidgwick & Jackson. British publisher.

Sidney, Sir Philip. (1554–1586) English poet.

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University.

SIDS. Sudden infant death syndrome.

siege.

Siegfried Line. Defensive fortification built by Germany along its western border before World War II.

Siena, Italy.

Sierra Leone. Republic in West Africa; capital Freetown.

Sierra Nevada. Not Sierra Nevada Mountains; “mountains” is already present in the term.

sieve.

signatory.

Sign of Four, The, not the Four, for the Sherlock Holmes story.

signor, signora, signorina. Italian for Mr., Mrs., and Miss.

Sikkim. Former Himalayan kingdom annexed by India in 1975.

Sikorsky helicopters.

silhouette.

silicon chip. Not -cone.

sillabub. Variant spelling of syllabub.

Sillitoe, Alan. (1928–) English novelist.

silvan (pref.)/sylvan (alt.).

s’il vous plaît. (Fr.) “Please.”

simile, metaphor. Both are figures of speech in which two things are compared. A simile likens one thing to another, dissimilar one: “He ran like the wind.” A metaphor acts as if the two compared things are identical and substitutes one for the other; thus comparing the beginning of time to the beginning of a day produces the metaphor “the dawn of time.”

Simon & Schuster. Publisher.

simpatico (It.)/simpático (Sp.). Friendly, congenial.

simulacrum. A likeness or copy; a deceptive substitute.

Sinai. Not the.

since. A common error is seen here: “Since April the company stopped giving discounts to students.” Since indicates action starting at a specified time in the past and continuing to the present. The verbs in sentences in which it appears must also indicate action that is continuing. Make it either “In April the company stopped” or “Since April the company has stopped.”

sinecure. A profitable or advantageous position requiring little or no work.

Sinepuxent Bay, Maryland.

sine qua non. (Lat.) “A necessary condition.”

sinfonietta. A small orchestra.

singe, singed, singeing.

Singin’ in the Rain. Not Singing. Classic MGM musical (1952).

Sinhalese. Main population group of Sri Lanka.

Sinn Fein. (Gaelic) Literally “we ourselves” Irish nationalist movement and political party. Pronounced shinn fane.

siphon is the usual spelling, but syphon is also acceptable.

sirocco. Type of hot wind originating in the Sahara and blowing over southern Europe.

Sistani, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-. (1930–) Senior Shia Muslim cleric in Iraq.

Sisyphus. Not -ss-. In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king of Corinth who was condemned for eternity to push a heavy stone up a hill, only to have it roll down again. Hence Sisyphean describes some endless task.

Sithole, Rev. Ndabaningi. (1920–2000) Zimbabwean clergyman and politician.

sitz bath. A chairlike tub in which the thighs and hips are immersed in water.

Sixth Avenue, New York; former, but