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

let someone stew • let someone stew in one’s own
juice
let someone stew —(also: leave someone stew) keep a person in
a state of uneasy anticipation or suspense: For one delicious
week I let him stew while he begged and pleaded for his career,
his marriage, his reputation.
let someone stew in one’s own juice —(also: leave someone stew
in one’s own juice) leave a person to his own devices to suffer
the consequences of his own actions: Some were saying “well
he asked for it, now let him stew in his own juice.”
Note: 
The expression does not correlate in meaning with the
phrase juice someone up—(sl.) stimulate or invigorate a person:
He’s a former U.S. Navy pilot who was given pills to juice
him up for long flights.
let something slide • let something slip
let something slide —
1
. let smth. take its own course: If Cal-
ifornia was going to cost the Union so much, it would be
better to let California slide. 2. neglect or ignore smth. such
as one’s work, etc.: She let her lessons slide, preferring the
company of her classmates in the residence. 3. (of an oppor-
tunity, etc.) allow to slip away without being profitably em -
ployed: Don’t let any chances slide past you, for your first may
be your last.
let something slip —
1
. = let something slide 2: He is too smart
to let his work slip — rather, he has become a master at doing
the minimal work needed to get by. 2. = let something slide 3:
Every section of the community has an interest in the Initiative
and as an area we mustn’t let the opportunity slip. 3. (also: let
something slip out) say smth. without intending to: He care-
lessly let slip this information in conversation with a journal-
ist.
let alone
– 216 –

---