socking /’snkir); NAmE 'saikir)/ adv. 17*7771 ‘socking great [only before noun] (old-fashioned, BrE, informal) extremely large A # A (ft: a socking great house ©A

(ft^T

sod /sDd; NAmE sard/ noun, verb

mnoun 1 (BrE, taboo, slang) used to refer to a person, especially a man, that you are annoyed with or think is unpleasant ( jthtKWA, )       You

stupid sod!  WitIn! 2 (BrE, taboo, slang) used

with an adjective to refer to a person, especially a man IgA, AtgAA )mk: The poor old sod got the sack yesterday. SEfv A # M ^ A£n MU To 0 You lucky sod! ! GOODS You can

use words like man, boy, devil or thing instead, i^nf h] man, boy, devil oJc thing #ia]ft#o 3 (BrE, taboo, slang) a thing that is difficult or causes problems $£A(ft ♦ ;   It was a real sod of a job, jJt/SJLKH

if 0 4 [sing.] (formal or literary) a layer of earth with grass growing on it; a piece of this that has been removed A^lftiJI; ( f£.li[(ft ) ^& : under the sod (= in your grave) A±

m verb (-dd-j [VN] (BrE, taboo, slang) (only used in orders ft T# A) a swear word that many people find offen­sive, used when sb is annoyed about sth or to show that they do not care about sth

) AMlft: Sod this car! It’s always breaking down. #. ® W ^ Hi A fit o O Oh,

sod it! I’m not doing any more. Rf, A       ! ficTT

To rorcrc see lark n. liiiidHI iSod 'off (BrE, taboo, slang) (usually used in orders to go away M',

MS: Sod off, the pair of you! fMlffi, UtnfJM! soda /'sauda; NAmE 'soud0/ noun 1 [U, C] = soda water : a Scotch and soda — IF j]P H 7jc (ft A l§ A ± & 2 (also old-fashioned 'soda pop) (both NAmE) [U, C] a sweet fizzy drink (= a drink with bubbles) made with soda water, fruit flavour and sometimes ice cream tfaK (       AW/JPAA^it ;) : He had an ice-cream

soda, itk lli T “ IF W- B. M A A 7]C 0  3 [U] a chemical

substance in common use that is a compound of SODIUM ^ fT; it M; A 7jc ^ B. tyl: baking/washing soda /Js^tT;    — see also caustic soda, sodium

BICARBONATE, SODIUM CARBONATE

'soda bread noun [U] bread that rises because of sodium bicarbonate that is added instead of yeast (popular in Ireland)   (ftTAA^n^ r Nf

'soda fountain noun (NAmE) 1 = soda siphon 2 (old- fashioned) a type of bar where you can buy sodas to drink, ice creams, etc. n ;

'soda lake noun (technical A iff) a lake in which the water contains a lot of sodium 'soda lime noun [U] a chemical containing sodium and calcium, used in industry M AM ( XikJf] )\

.sod 'all noun [U] (BrE, taboo, slang) a phrase that some people find offensive, used to mean ‘none at all’ or ‘nothing at all’ ftk^^J—

'soda pop noun = soda(2)

'soda siphon (6r£) (NAmE 'soda fountain) noun a bottle containing soda water or another drink, with a device that you press to pour the drink and put bubbles into it

.() mum, H7M

'soda water (also soda) noun 1 [U] fizzy water (= water with bubbles) used as a drink on its own or to mix with alcoholic drinks or fruit juice (originally made with sodium bicarbonate) AtK ; A A tK 2 [c] a glass of soda water —IF 'KtK

sod-den /'SDdn; NAmE 'saidn/ adj. 1 extremely wet $£j§ (ft; $1 ii W 033 SOAKED: sodden grass S£ jit (ft A 2 -sodden extremely wet with the thing mentioned jf-'-'Siit&A     a rain-sodden jacket

sod-ding /'SDdirj; NAmE'said-/ adj. [only before noun] (BrE, taboo, slang) a swear word that many people find offen­sive, used to emphasize a comment or an angry state­ment ( Ut jjn ® iff) : I couldn’t understand a sodding thing!

so dium /'saudiam; NAmE 'sou-/ noun [U] (symb Na) a chemical element. Sodium is a soft silver-white metal that is found naturally only in compounds, such as salt, jfi

.sodium bi carbonate (also bi carbonate of soda, 'baking soda) (also informal bi-carb) noun [U] (symb NaHCO j a chemical in the form of a white powder that dissolves and is used in baking to make cakes, etc. rise and become light, and in making fizzy drinks and some medicines      A^mi

sodium carbonate /.saudiam 'karbanat; NAmE ,sou-; 'ka:rb-/ (also 'washing soda) noun [U] (symb Na2C03) a chemical in the form of white crystals or powder that dissolves and is used in making glass, soap and paper, and for making water soft

.sodium 'chloride noun [U] (symb NaCI) common salt (a chemical made up of sodium and chlorine) it

Sodom and Gom or rah /.sndam an ga'mura; NAmE .saidam an ga'maira; -moira/ noun a place that is full of people behaving in a sexually immoral way M (ft A; The village had a reputation as a latter-

day Sodom and Gomorrah,

BETKirci From the names of two cities in the Bible which were destroyed by God to punish the people for their sexually immoral behav­iour. Ml

sodomite /'SDdamait; NAmE 'said-/ noun (old-fashioned, formal) a person who practises sodomy # sod om ize (BrE also -ise) /'sndamaiz; NAmE 'said-/ verb [VN] (disapproving) to have anal sex with sb x!£p sod omy /'sndami; NAmE 'said-/ noun [U] a sexual act in which a man puts his penis in sb’s, especially another man’s, anus

,Sod’s 'Law noun [U] (BrE, humorous) the tendency for things to happen in just the way that you do not want, and in a way that is not useful AAEjTWMiI,

A A Mil ( lg A A (ft T tit % fflAW IS M te IS S ) : We always play better when we are not being recorded—but that’s Sod’s Law, isn’t it? mi & Ji A#rf:(ft Hifc'MMiW

m—  mmm^^immun-, ji

T/e? 0 It was Sod’s Law—the only day he could manage was the day I couldn’t miss work. JIIIMTillAM   ftk

sofa /'saufa; NAmE 'soufa/ noun a long comfortable seat with a back and arms, for two or more people to sit on H771 settee, couch — picture o chair 'sofa bed noun a sofa that can be folded out to form a

bed ( ) mM&k, WkW. —picture o

BED

Soft 0-w /soft; NAmE soift/ adj. (soft-er, soft-est)

►                 NOT HARD T If 1 changing shape easily when pressed;

not stiff or firm ¥k.#\]; : soft margarine ItAisll

0 soft feather pillows    O The grass was

soft and springy.   2 less hard than

average      [ft;      soft rocks such as lime­stone    0 soft cheeses     QE3

HARD

►                 NOT ROUGH Tlilfifi 3 smooth and pleasant to touch ^

MM-, mmW ;    soft skin mmMfcfc 033

ROUGH

►                 WITHOUT ANGLES/EDGES Jo ^ ffi 4 not having sharp angles or hard edges

|0 [ft : This season’s fashions focus on warm tones and soft lines.   0 The

moon’s pale light cast soft shadows, 61)H Slfl

►                 LIGHT/COLOURS AhA; fe# 5 [usually before noun] not too

bright, in a way that is pleasant and relaxing to the eyes ^fn$J; 't# S : a soft pink    0 the

soft glow of candlelight Alt! [ftMA PT33 harsh

►                 RAIN/WIND M [   6 not strong or violent  (ft ; /h

fft; |0(ft 033 light: A soft breeze rustled the trees.

mmm,

SOUNDS M # 7 not loud, and usually pleasant and