soap
(well,) wash my mouth out with soap
A sarcastic exclamation of mock regret over a statement someone else found or might find offensive, objectionable, or tasteless. A: "You could at least watch your language around my kids!" B: "Oh, I'm sorry, is it too harsh for their sensitive little ears? Well, wash my mouth out with soap." Are you upset? Am I being too mean? I guess I ought to wash my mouth out with soap, huh?
See also: mouth, out, soap, wash
don't drop the soap!
vulgar Mocking pseudo-advice given to a man who might be or is about to be sent to prison, referring to prison rape that may occur if one bends over to retrieve dropped soap in the shower, thus exposing himself. You were sentenced to five years for selling drugs? Tough luck, man, don't drop the soap!
See also: drop
in soaped-pig fashion
Unclear and/or vague. The phrase refers to a now-outdated form of entertainment in which people tried to catch soaped pigs. Please make a decisive statement somewhere in your next paper because writing in this soaped-pig fashion won't get you a good grade!
See also: fashion
no dice
No luck; no chance; certainly not. Often said as a response indicating a total refusal or rejection. I tried swapping out the carburetor, but no dice. A: "Would you help me wash the dishes?" B: "Sorry, no dice. I've got somewhere I need to be."
See also: dice, no
no soap
No luck; no chance; certainly not. (Often said as a response, indicating a total refusal or rejection.) Primarily heard in US. I tried swapping out the carburetor, but no soap. A: "Can you help me move on Saturday?" B: "Sorry, no soap. I've got somewhere I need to be."
See also: no, soap
not know (someone) from a bar of soap
To be completely unaware of or know nothing about someone; to have never met the person indicated. My girlfriend got really excited when a movie star apparently walked past us, but I wouldn't know him from a bar of soap. Someone I wouldn't know from a bar of soap just contacted me online, claiming to be a distant relative.
See also: bar, know, not, of, soap
rinse (one's) mouth out (with soap)
To punish someone for using rude, vulgar, or obscene language by cleaning their mouth with soap (usually used merely as a threat). If you kids don't stop cussing in this house, I'm going to rinse your mouths out with soap!
See also: mouth, out, rinse
soap down
To cover someone, something, or oneself in soap. A noun or pronoun can be used between "soap" and "down." To conserve hot water, I turn the shower off while I soap down and then turn it back on to rinse off. Our dog hates getting soaped down for his bath. You'll really need to soap the car down thoroughly and rinse it down completely to stop corrosion from beginning.
See also: down, soap
soap opera
1. A sentimental, melodramatic serialized program, especially for television, often panned for having shallow, unrealistic characters and storylines. The name alludes to the fact that early radio shows of this type were sponsored by soap companies. I used to roll my eyes at the soap operas my mother watched, but now I'm completely hooked on them, too. The only thing the people in my office discuss are the latest scandals in the various soap operas they all follow.
2. By extension, a situation that is so melodramatic or sensational as to be reminiscent of such a show. Why does every relationship Jeff gets into turn into a soap opera? I swear, he looks for drama like this.
See also: opera, soap
soap opera effect
An informal term for "motion smoothing" or "motion interpolation," a process by which one's TV artificially increases the frame rate of video in order to remove motion blur. As a result, some movies and TV shows have an exaggeratedly realistic visual quality more typical of videotape (the traditional filming medium for soap operas) than film. A: "Why does everything look so weird on my new TV?" B: "It's the soap opera effect. Let's see if we can turn that off."
See also: effect, opera, soap
soap plant
Any plant that produces a lather that can be used for cleansing. Examples include the California soap plant, the soapberry, and the soapwort. My mom makes all-natural soap out of soap plants.
See also: plant, soap
soap scum
1. A thin white or gray film of soap, dirt, and skin cells that accumulates around the shower, bathtub, or sink. I don't think the previous owners of this place ever cleaned their bathrooms properly. The soap scum in the bathtubs must have been an inch thick! This spray promises to wash away soap scum without any need to scrub!
2. An extremely repugnant, vile, wretched person. You're worse than a rat, worse than a maggot—you're nothing but soap scum! I would never let my daughter date soap scum like you!
See also: scum, soap
soap up
To cover someone, something, or oneself in soap. A noun or pronoun can be used between "soap" and "up." To conserve hot water, I turn the shower off while I soap up and then turn it back on to rinse off. Our dog hates it when we soap him up for his bath.
See also: soap, up
soft soap
1. noun Flattering, cajoling talk meant to persuade someone, obtain something, or achieve a particular outcome. Don't let his soft soap get the better of you—he's only interested in himself. You think you can get whatever you want with a bit of soft soap, but some things in life have to be earned.
2. To persuade someone about something or persuade someone to do something, especially through the use of charm, flattery, or cajolery. Sometimes hyphenated. That weasel Mike is always trying to soft-soap the boss to get things done the way he wants. You'll never soft soap grandma, Jake—she's too shrewd for that.
See also: soap, soft
wash (one's) mouth out (with soap)
To punish one for using rude, vulgar, or obscene language by cleaning their mouth with soap (usually used merely as a threat). If you kids don't stop cussing in this house, I'm going to wash your mouths out with soap!
See also: mouth, out, wash
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
no dice
Inf. no; not possible. When I asked about a loan, he said, "No dice." No. It can't be done, no dice.
See also: dice, no
no soap
Inf. no. I can't do it. No soap. No soap, I don't lend anyone money.
See also: no, soap
soap someone or something down
to cover someone or something thoroughly with soap or suds. Mother soaped Timmy down and rinsed him off in warm water. she soaped down the floor.
See also: down, soap
soft soap
1. flattering talk; sweet talk. I don't mind a little soft soap. It won't affect what I decide, though. Don't waste my time with soft soap. I know you don't mean it.
2. (Usually soft-soap.) to attempt to convince someone (of something) by gentle persuasion. We couldn't soft-soap her into it. Don't try to soft-soap her. she's an old battle-ax.
See also: soap, soft
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
no dice
Also, no go; no soap. No, certainly not; also, impossible. For example, Anthony wanted to borrow my new coat, but Mom said no dice, or We tried to rent the church for the wedding, but it's no go for the date you picked, or Jim asked Dad to help pay for the repairs, but Dad said no soap. All of these slangy expressions indicate refusal or an unsuccessful attempt. No dice, from the 1920s, alludes to an unlucky throw in gambling; no go, alluding to lack of progress, dates from about 1820; and no soap dates from about 1920 and possibly alludes to the phrase it won't wash, meaning "it won't find acceptance." Also see nothing doing; won't wash.
See also: dice, no
no soap
see under no dice.
See also: no, soap
soap opera
1. A radio or television serial with stock characters in domestic dramas that are noted for being sentimental and melodramatic. For example, She just watches soap operas all day long. This term originated in the mid-1930s and was so called because the sponsors of the earliest such radio shows were often soap manufacturers.
2. Real-life situation resembling one that might occur in a soap opera, as in She just goes on and on about her various medical and family problems, one long soap opera . [1940s]
See also: opera, soap
soft soap
Flattery, cajolery, as in She's only six but she's learned how to get her way with soft soap. This colloquial expression alludes to liquid soap, likening its slippery quality to insincere flattery. Its figurative use was first recorded in 1830.
See also: soap, soft
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
no dice
1. If you are trying to achieve something and you say there's no dice, you mean that you are having no success with it. I tried calling her and I tried one or two of her old friends in Hampstead, but there was no dice. I was hoping he'd offer me a ride in his hot-air balloon, but no dice.
2. If someone asks you for something and you reply no dice, you are refusing to do what they ask. Nope, sorry, we're not interested, no dice. Note: This expression comes from the game of craps (= a game that uses dice), and means that the player's last throw is not counted.
See also: dice, no
no soap
AMERICAN, INFORMALYou say no soap to mean that you have failed to do something that you have been trying to do. I went over to his office yesterday and I called him at home this morning. No soap.
See also: no, soap
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
no dice
used to refuse a request or indicate that there is no chance of success. North American informal 1990 Paul Auster The Music of Chance Sorry kid. No dice. You can talk yourself blue in the face, but I'm not going.
See also: dice, no
no soap
no chance of something happening or occurring. North American informalThe origin of this expression, used to refuse a request, may lie in the mid 19th- century US informal use of soap to mean ‘money’.
1929 Edmund Wilson I Thought of Daisy If he tries to cut in on you, don't letum—I'll just tellum, no soap.
See also: no, soap
soft soap
persuasive flattery.The underlying idea is of soft soap (literally a type of semi-fluid soap) being lubricative and unctuous.
See also: soap, soft
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
no ˈdice
(spoken, especially American English) used to show that you refuse to do something or that something cannot be done: ‘Did you get that job?’ ‘No dice.’When you throw dice in a game, if they do not fall flat or they land on top of each other, the throw is invalid and considered no dice.See also: dice, no
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
soap up
v.
1. To cover someone or something with soap: We soaped up the car, scrubbed well, and rinsed it clean. I soaped my legs up and shaved them.
2. To cover oneself with soap: I soaped up and rinsed off in the shower.
See also: soap, up
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
no dice
interj. no; not possible. When I asked about a loan, he said, No dice.
See also: dice, no
no soap
interj. no. No soap, I don’t lend anyone money.
See also: no, soap
soap
n. a soap opera. Soaps are very popular on college campuses these days.
soft soap
1. n. flattering talk; sweet talk. I don’t mind a little soft soap. It won’t affect what I do, though.
2. tv. to attempt to convince someone (of something) by gentle persuasion. Don’t try to soft soap her. She’s an old battle-ax.
See also: soap, soft
Well, wash my mouth out with soap
and WWMMOWS sent. & comp. abb. a request indicating pretend remorse for saying something profane or objectionable. So you don’t like my advanced vocabulary. WWMMOWS.
See also: mouth, out, soap, wash
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
no dice
1. Of no use; futile.
2. Used as a refusal to a request.
See also: dice, no
no soap
Slang1. Not possible or permissible.
2. Unsuccessful; futile.
See also: no, soap
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
no dice
Nothing doing; useless and ineffective. A twentieth-century American colloquialism, this term clearly comes from gambling, but its precise origin is obscure. Presumably it meant that without dice one couldn’t have a game. It appears in print in several popular novels of the early 1940s, including A. Marshall’s Some Like It Hot (1941), which became a very successful motion picture (“No dice. I’ll get along in my own piddling fashion”). See also no way.
See also: dice, no
soft soap
Flattery. The analogy here is to a slithery, unctuous substance (which describes soft soap), and it has been drawn since the first half of the nineteenth century. “To see them flattering and soft soaping me all over,” wrote John Neal (John Beedle’s Sleigh Ride, ca. 1840). A contemporary synonym, now obsolete, was soft sawder, a substance used for soldering. It was still used in the 1940s but is seldom heard today.
See also: soap, soft
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
no dice
An absolute refusal. According to one explanation, courts would not convict gamblers at illegal craps games unless they were caught with dice (swallowing the evidence was not an uncommon way to get rid of it). “No dice, no conviction” was the watchword that referred to that refusal to convict.
See also: dice, no
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
- (well,) wash my mouth out with soap
- Well, wash my mouth out with soap
- WWMMOWS
- excuse you
- hoo-rah
- manual