15 PHRASE You use and so on or and so forth at the end of a list to indicate that there are other items that you could also mention. □ …subjective ideas of happiness, such as health, wealth, being loved and so on.
16 PHRASE You use so much and so many when you are saying that there is a definite limit to something but you are not saying what this limit is. □ There is only so much time in the day for answering letters. □ Even the greatest city can support only so many lawyers.
17 PHRASE You use the structures not…so much and not so much…as to say that something is one kind of thing rather than another kind. □ I did not really object to Will's behaviour so much as his personality.
18 PHRASE You use or so when you are giving an approximate amount. [VAGUENESS ] □ Though rates are heading down, they still offer real returns of 8% or so. □ Matt got me a room there for a week or so when I first came here.
19 so much the better → see better
20 ever so → see ever
21 so far so good → see far
22 so long → see long ➌
23 so much for → see much
24 so much so → see much
25 every so often → see often
26 so there → see there
soak /soʊ k/ (soaks , soaking , soaked )
1 VERB If you soak something or leave it to soak , you put it into a liquid and leave it there. □ [V n] Soak the beans for 2 hours. □ [V ] He turned off the water and left the dishes to soak.
2 VERB If a liquid soaks something or if you soak something with a liquid, the liquid makes the thing very wet. □ [V n] The water had soaked his jacket and shirt. □ [V n + with ] Soak the soil around each bush with at least 4 gallons of water.
3 VERB If a liquid soaks through something, it passes through it. □ [V prep/adv] There was so much blood it had soaked through my boxer shorts.
4 VERB If someone soaks , they spend a long time in a hot bath, because they enjoy it. □ [V ] What I need is to soak in a hot tub. ● N‑COUNT Soak is also a noun. □ I was having a long soak in the bath.
5 → see also soaked , soaking
▸ soak up
1 PHRASAL VERB If a soft or dry material soaks up a liquid, the liquid goes into the substance. □ [V P n] The cells will promptly start to soak up moisture. [Also V n P ]
2 PHRASAL VERB If you soak up the atmosphere in a place that you are visiting, you observe or get involved in the way of life there, because you enjoy it or are interested in it. [INFORMAL ] □ [V P n] Keaton comes here once or twice a year to soak up the atmosphere. [Also V n P ]
3 PHRASAL VERB If something soaks up something such as money or other resources, it uses a great deal of money or other resources. □ [V P n] Defence soaks up forty per cent of the budget. [Also V n P ]
soaked /soʊ kt/ ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If someone or something gets soaked or soaked through , water or some other liquid makes them extremely wet. □ I have to check my tent–it got soaked last night in the storm. □ We got soaked to the skin.
-soaked /-soʊkt/ COMB [usu ADJ n] -soaked combines with nouns such as 'rain' and 'blood' to form adjectives which describe someone or something that is extremely wet or extremely damp because of the thing mentioned. □ He trudged through the rain-soaked woods. □ …blood-soaked clothes.
soak|ing /soʊ k I ŋ/ ADJ If something is soaking or soaking wet , it is very wet. □ My face and raincoat were soaking wet.
so -and-so
1 PRON You use so-and-so instead of a word, expression, or name when you are talking generally rather than giving a specific example of a particular thing. [INFORMAL ] □ It would be a case of 'just do so-and-so and here's your cash'. □ In those days, the boss was respectfully addressed as Mr so-and-so.
2 N‑COUNT People sometimes refer to another person as a so-and-so when they are annoyed with them or think that they are foolish. People often use so-and-so in order to avoid using a swear word. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ All her fault, the wicked little so-and-so.
soap /soʊ p/ (soaps , soaping , soaped )
1 N‑VAR Soap is a substance that you use with water for washing yourself or sometimes for washing clothes. □ …a bar of lavender soap. □ …a large packet of soap powder. □ …a soap bubble.
2 VERB If you soap yourself , you rub soap on your body in order to wash yourself. □ [V pron-refl] She soaped herself all over.
3 N‑COUNT A soap is the same as a soap opera . [INFORMAL ]
soap|box /soʊ pbɒks/ (soapboxes )
1 N‑COUNT A soapbox is a small temporary platform on which a person stands when he or she is making a speech outdoors. □ He climbed aboard a soapbox to declaim against the evils of modern society.
2 N‑COUNT If you say that someone is on their soapbox , you mean that they are speaking or writing about something they have strong feelings about. □ We were interested in pushing forward certain issues and getting up on our soapbox about them.
soa p op|era (soap operas ) N‑COUNT A soap opera is a popular television drama series about the daily lives and problems of a group of people who live in a particular place.