important, especially after sb has criticized you for it

(       AMA&MlAlftjf^m ) : ‘He’S

fifteen years younger than you!’ ‘So what?’ “ #, tfc A/JN -f S ^ %! ” “ UP       'a © ? ” o So what if nobody else

agrees with me?   'fcAJlJ&ffcW'A.BL

m?

m noun = soh

soak /sauk; NAmE souk/ verb, noun m verb 1 ~ (sth) (in sth) to put sth in liquid for a time so that it becomes completely wet; to become completely wet in this way US;     SIS: [VN] I usually

soak the beans overnight,  7       0 If you

soak the tablecloth before you wash it, the stains should come out.        ■fsmmm&W', om

Leave the apricots to soak for 20 minutes. 20

o       I’m going to go and soak in the bath. Iglf-Aife 2 [VN] to make sb/sth completely wet {<£ Si§; Ifi • • •    S K771 drench : A sudden shower of rain

soaked the spectators. ^    ^ A — 1^ M ffi E# 7 A

0 3 [VN] (informal) to obtain a lot of money from sb by making them pay very high taxes or prices [ft ( ^ A )        m ( SA ) ; Ift ( £A )  He was

accused of soaking his clients. ftfe$&j§j$lft^A-it£'f1‘IIo 1JSI:IW 'soak into/through sth | soak 'in (of a liquid to enter or pass through sth i#A; '&%k: Blood had soaked through the bandage.        AAo

,soak sth<-off/'out to remove sth by leaving it in water Jfi - ,soak sth*~*'up 1 to take in or absorb liquid ) : Use a cloth to soak up some

of the excess water, M A 4E ^ A ift zk M A D 2 to absorb sth into your senses, your body or your mind (

1l\   ) MA, 15 3A We were just sitting soaking up

the atmosphere.

a noun (also soaking) [sing.] 1 an act of leaving sth in a liquid for a period of time; an act of making sb/sth wet ?SiiS; Sift: Give the shirt a good soak before you wash it. 4EM # A if ~ Q 2 (informal) a period of time spent in a bath '$1# soaked /saukt; NAmE soukt/ adj. 1 [not usually before noun] ~ (with sth) very wet Pm drenched: He woke up soaked with sweat, fife SIT,      0

You’re soaked through! (= completely wet) jff fft M T! O They were soaked to the skin. (MAf-0 You’ll get soaked if you go out in this rain. If ;&4¥(ftffifh A, f7AA7($j^(fto 0 Your clothes are soaked! j/ft(ftA ! o note at wet 2 -soaked used with nouns to form adjectives describing sth that is made completely wet with the thing mentioned (

) '/tiff7^■••il'SKft: a blood-soaked cloth    7 If. (ft A O rain-soaked clothing Mzjc^ifflft

AM

soak-ing /'saukiq; NAmE 'sou-/ (also ,soaking 'wet) adj. completely wet M^llft; $l#|#|(ft P1771 sopping• That

coat is soaking—take it off. h AiSiST      MTApE0

0 We arrived home soaking wet. ® fij |c 

MM®,

so-and-so /'sau an sau; NAmE 'sou an sou/ noun [pi so-and-sos) (informal) 1 [usually sing.] used to refer to a person, thing, etc. when you do not know their name or when you are talking in a general way ( |gnt] 7(ftA, tJ, mm )       ) : What would

you say to Mrs So-and-so who has called to complain about a noisy neighbour?       ,

tT M $ ih , # £H M A A ? 2 an annoying or

unpleasant perspn. People sometimes say so-and-so to avoid using an offensive word, fejA(ft ; i'f JA%.: He’s an ungrateful so-and-so. itkjiA  (ft AfRo

SOap 0-w /saup; NAmE soup/ noun, verb m noun 1 [U, C] a substance that you use with water for washing your body flE^; , soap and water 0 a

bar/piece of soap  o soap bubbles

2 [C] (informal) = soap opera: soaps on TV AffiLiASM m^mo She’s a US soap star.

verb [VN] to rub yourself/sb/sth with soap £JcJJR4l; MM izfc— see also soft-soap

soap-box /’saupbDks; NAmE 'soupbaiks/ noun a small temporary platform that sb stands on to make a speech

in a public place, usually outdoors ( 7 -Jb M A (ft ) IKSN- j|f itt cf BT»T7n get/be on your 'soapbox [informal) to express the strong opinions that you have about a particular subject

'soap flakes noun [pi.] very small thin pieces of soap that are sold in boxes, used for washing clothes by hand M&H ( AAftAM )

'soap opera (also informal soap) noun [C, U] a story about the lives and problems of a group of people which is broadcast every day or several times a week on television or radio

'soap powder noun [U, C] [BrE) a powder made from soap and other substances that you use for washing your clothes, especially in a machine $fcA$h soap-stone /'saupstaun; NAmE 'soupstoun/ noun [U] a type of soft stone that feels like soap, used in making decorative objects AA (     ) ■

soap-suds /'saupsAdz; NAmE 'soup-/ noun [pi.] = suds soapy /'saupi; NAmE 'soupi/ adj. [usually before noun]

1                  hill of soap; covered with soap $tjyE-4(ft; '&f!IE^I

(ft 2 tasting or feeling like soap    (ft; SIf ^lE

soar /so:(r)/ verb [V] 1 if the value, amount or level of sth soars, it rises very quickly .HA; MJff EKTTC rocket: soaring costs/prices/temperatures fi ±0 (l4 A A; A M

itA(ftfili.lS:o Unemployment has soared to 18%. Aikf\3\T 18%0 2 ~ (up) (into sth) to rise quickly and smoothly up into the air    Aft: The

rocket soared (up) into the air. Amr A$o 0 [figurative) Her spirits soared (— she became very happy and excited).   3 to fly very high in the air or

remain high in the air [t[ A;   : an eagle soaring

high above the cliffs A Lb it -t^ rti I! )U (ft M 4 to be very high or tall i§[    ; QaL; soaring mountains life A

(ft.f^ljj 0 The building soared above us. AHjllMlij, 5§P 5 when music soars, it becomes higher or louder ( A A; ) A tU, kiiS: soaring strings

soar-away /'soirawei/ adj. [only before noun] (BrE) (espe­cially of success X 4b A 5^) very great; growing very quickly g A^;

SOB /,es au 'bi:; NAmE ,es ou 'bi:/ noun [slang, especially NAmE) = SON OF A BITCH sob /sDb; NAmE sa:b/ verb, noun

mverb (-bb-) 1 [V] to cry noisily, taking sudden, sharp breaths jft of ; Bg & ; ng : I heard a child sobbing loudly. ikM      “7‘ A o He started to sob

uncontrollably. jikT'A 2 ~ sth (out) to

say sth while you are crying  [V

speech]‘I hate him,’she sobbed.

iko 0 [VN] He sobbed out his troubles.        § S

fTtT^Tl sob your 'heart out to cry noisily for a long time because you are very sad

mnoun an act or the sound of sobbing ( ^ ) ; t ( M ) ; R4Bi ( M ) : He gave a deep sob.  j

tfL W ff M o 0 Her body was racked (= shaken) with sobs,

sober /'sauba(r); NAmE 'sou-/ adj., verb a adj. 1 [not usually before noun] not drunk (= not affected by alcohol) A I? : I promised him that I’d stay sober tonight.        0 He was as

sober as a judge (= completely sober), ftk ^ A/S: 0

2                  (of people and their behaviour AA AAt A) serious

and sensible    : a sober assessment of the

situation Zt       ^ # 4S it O He is honest, sober and

hard-working. fikMA, It Hu       0 On sober reflec­

tion (- after some serious thought), I don’t think I really need a car after all., ^  T Micifs,

A ^ A X 'M ^ A o 3 (of colours or clothes M&AM^) plain and not bright %  ; Ifk % (ft: a sober grey suit

sober-ly adv. ffiTOf see stone cold m verb to make sb behave or think in a more serious and sensible way; to become more serious and sensible (      ) ;  [VN] The bad news sobered

us for a while. A ,!>   ^ (i J f_A J L 0 o[V] He

suddenly sobered.     sober 'up |

.sober sb 'up to become or to make sb no longer drunk