A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

stone frigate • stone ship
stone frigate —(Royal Navy) naval barracks or a shore estab-
lishment named after the old frigates: She found that H.M.S.
Mastodon was a stone frigate. It was Exbury Hall, about three
miles up the Beaulieu River.
stone ship —
1
. a fossilized ship discovered in the course of
archeological excavations: The discovery of this stone ship has
created a world sensation, not only in archaeology…. 2.
(WWI) a war-time ferro-concrete ship: The carrying capacity
was less for a concrete ship. The significant element in build-
ing, however, was that fewer expensive trades and industries
were called for in a “stone” ship.
stop and smell the roses • wake up and smell the
coffee
stop and smell the roses—(also: take time to smell the roses)
slow down and relax; take time out and enjoy or appreciate
life: There is a whole lot more to life than work and worry.
You got to stop and smell the roses.
wake up and smell the coffee —is used to tell a person to face
the facts; realize what is really happening: There is nothing
you can do that will convince them to let you back into the
club, so wake up and smell the coffee.
stop doing something • stop to do something
stop doing something —cease or give up doing smth.: The
teachers had stopped attending to pupils who would certainly
pass or certainly fail.
stop to do something —pause in order to do smth.: He
stopped to watch a half-dozen of the boys playing blackjack.
stop one’s clock • stop someone’s clock • stop the
clock
stop one’s clock —(Chess) press one’s chess clock to measure
time: The last move is not considered as made until after the
player has stopped his clock.
Note:
The expression is not antonymous in meaning to the
phrase one’s biological clock is ticking— used of a woman who
may soon be too old to bear a child: Your biological clock is
ticking. Why are you spending some of that precious time in
a relationship about which you feel skeptical?
stop someone’s clock —(sl.) kill a person: Mr. Carlson, despite
the drug agents’ best efforts to stop his clock, miraculously
survived three gunshot wounds. He decided to sue the gov-
ernment.