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

sit knee by knee • sit knee to knee
sit knee by knee —sit side by side and close together: Let me
break the secret: in the evening at the bar the trainer and the
black haired beauty sit knee by knee.
sit knee to knee —sit facing each other with the knees touch-
ing: During the session, couples were asked to turn to each
other and, sitting knee to knee, talk about various aspects of
their marriage.
sit loose to something • sit loose upon someone
sit loose to something —be indifferent to or independent of
smth.: Buchan was delighted, especially because a university
member could sit fairly loose to party.
sit loose upon someone —said of opinions, principles, etc. that
a person holds loosely to and can easily abandon: He whose
opinions sat loose upon him, was always deemed a bad, and
generally a weak, man.
sit up with someone • sit with someone
sit up with someone —keep a person company remaining late
out of bed: Charlotte sat up with her late at night and the
two of them watched the snow fall together.
sit with someone —
1
. stay with smb. who is in need of care:
Brigi sat with her boys in the hospital when they were sick,
did their speech therapy with them, helped them with home-
work. 2. (of things) suit a person; be accepted by smb.: How
will it sit with the bishops if Charles chooses to marry a
woman with whom he’s been living in sin.
skeleton at the feast, a • skeleton in the cupboard, a
skeleton at the feast, a —a person or thing that in the midst
of pleasures acts as a reminder of life’s troubles: However, all’s
well that ends well, and I haven’t come back to be a skeleton
at the feast.
skeleton in the cupboard, a —(also U.S.: skeleton in the closet,
a) an embarrassing personal secret or discreditable fact: One
doesn’t necessarily have to have a skeleton in the cupboard to
be damaged by rumor.