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

scrub something off • scrub something out
scrub something off —(also: scrub something away) remove
smth. by scrubbing: I got paint on my hands and I can’t scrub
it off.
scrub something out—
1
. = scrub something off: When you spill
ink on the carpet, remove it straight away — you won’t be able
to scrub it out later. 2. clean smth. thoroughly by rubbing the
surface: As soon as they moved in, they started scrubbing out
the rooms. 3. draw a line through a writing so that it cannot
be read: Scrub out that last part of the message, the wording
is not very polite.
sea power • water power
sea power —
1
. (also: naval power) a nation or state with a
large navy: Just over a century ago, the United States became
a sea power, changing its basic strategic orientation in the
course of a few years. 2. the capacity of a nation for naval war-
fare; the size and strength of a country’s navy: French sea
power, allied with the American cause after 
1
778, enabled
Washington to isolate and destroy the British army.
water power —power derived from the weight or motion of
water, used to drive machinery, etc.: Since 
1
985, the city of
Boulder has run a hydroelectric program to turn water power
into electricity.
see a pink elephant • see the elephant
see a pink elephant—have visionary hallucinations caused by
alcoholism (also: see pink elephants): One time when I got
loaded on beer I heard water running when there was none
and I did see a pink elephant.
see the elephant—(U.S. coll.) gain worldly experience (having
been to far-off places, visiting sights, etc.): He is quite well
able to take care of himself; he has seen the elephant.
sea boy • sea girl
see boy —a man or youth pursuing his career at sea as a sailor,
etc.: He ventured to remark, that no other coat than a pay-
jacket could become a sea-boy.
sea girl —(also: sea-maid) a mythological being supposed to
inhabit the sea: Suddenly they saw twelve sea girls come up
out of the water and dance a round upon the sand.