sir

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aye aye, sir

An affirmation that a request or order has been understood and will be carried out directly. Originates from the Royal and U.S. Navy, where it is an official reply to a command issued by a superior officer. A: "Will you grab a drink for me when you're heading to the bar?" B: "Aye aye, sir!"

praise from Sir Hubert

The most prestigious compliment one can receive. Derived from a line in the 1797 Thomas Morton play A Cure for the Heartache. The CEO actually commended you for your work on the project? Wow, that's praise from Sir Hubert indeed!

sup with Sir Thomas Gresham

To go without food. Sir Thomas Gresham founded the Royal Exchange in London, which the poor often visited. A: "Why are you so hungry? Didn't you eat dinner?" B: "No, I got stuck in a meeting, so I supped with Sir Thomas Gresham."

no sir

Absolutely not; no way. A: "I mean, would you betray your co-workers for a bit of extra money?" B: "No sir! I have principles." No sir, I will not be fooled again!

something for the weekend?

obsolete A euphemistic phrase once used to discreetly offer someone a condom. If you're satisfied with your haircut, how about something for the weekend?

three bags full, sir

Used to sarcastically characterize someone who obsequiously accepts any order or demand, no matter how unwise or unreasonable. It's never wise to surround yourself with subordinates whose only contribution to your ideas is "three bags full, sir." You need people who will challenge you to think or act in ways you hadn't considered.

yes sir

1. Literally, a respectful affirmation to a man. A: "Adams, report to your CO at 0800 hours." B: "Yes sir! A: "Will you have the report finished in time for my board meeting?" B: "Yes sir, I'm just finishing up the final points now."

2. Used to emphasize what one just said, rather than being addressed to anyone in particular. Ouch, that is one nasty looking cut you've got there, yes sir! Yes sir, this new lawnmower will take care of that grass in half the time it used to take!

no sir

Also, no sirree. Certainly not. This emphatic denial is used without regard to the gender of the person addressed. For example, No sir, I'm not taking her up on that, or Live here? No sirree. [Mid-1800s]

all Sir Garnet

highly satisfactory. informal, dated

Sir Garnet Wolseley ( 1833–1913 ), leader of several successful military expeditions, was associated with major reforms in the army. He was the model for the ‘modern Major-General’ in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance.

ˌno ˈsir!

ˌno sirˈree!

(spoken, especially American English) certainly not: We will never allow that to happen! No sir!

ˌyes ˈsir!

ˌyes sirˈree!

(spoken, especially American English) used to emphasize that something is true: That’s a fine car you have. Yes sirree!

See also: yes

References in classic literature ?

Sir,' said Sir Kay, 'by my brother Arthur, for he brought it to me.

When I came home for my brother's sword, I found no body at home to deliver me his sword, and so I thought my brother Sir Kay should not go swordless, and so I came hither eagerly and pulled it out of the stone without any pain.

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I must once more remind you, Sir Patrick, that I have serious reason to doubt whether Miss Silvester is a fit companion for Blanche.

At my age," added Sir Patrick, cunningly drifting into generalities, "nothing is serious--except Indigestion.

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As I went out at his door I heard him murmur sleep- ily: "Give you good den, fair sir.

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My dear sir, I'm quite certain you cannot be ignorant of the extent of confidence which must be placed in professional men.

My dear Sir, my dear sir,' said the little man, laying his hat on the table, 'pray, consider--pray.

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Very good of you, Sir Edward," he said, "to put yourself out at this time of night to have a word or two with me.

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MY good opinion,' said Mrs Nickleby, and the poor lady exulted in the idea that she was marvellously sly,--'my good opinion can be of very little consequence to a gentleman like Sir Mulberry.

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YOUR name, sir,' said Mr Tappertit, looking very hard at his nightcap, 'is Chester, I suppose?

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Yet," said Sir Richard Causton, "we cannot for the honor of England go back without a blow struck.

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Ay, true," said the man of law in a dry, husky voice, "his land is surely forfeit if he cometh not to pay; but, Sir Prior, thou must get a release beneath his sign manual, or else thou canst not hope to hold the land without trouble from him.

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Was this common, too common, story of a man's treachery and a woman's frailty the key to a secret which had been the life-long terror of Sir Percival Glyde?

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Thus, he was in a condition to relate the exact circumstances of the difference between the Marquis of Mizzler and Lord Bobby, which it appeared originated in a disputed bottle of champagne, and not in a pigeon-pie, as erroneously reported in the newspapers; neither had Lord Bobby said to the Marquis of Mizzler, 'Mizzler, one of us two tells a lie, and I'm not the man,' as incorrectly stated by the same authorities; but 'Mizzler, you know where I'm to be found, and damme, sir, find me if you want me'--which, of course, entirely changed the aspect of this interesting question, and placed it in a very different light.

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In a well- regulated body politic this natural desire on the part of a spirited young gentleman so highly connected would be speedily recognized, but somehow William Buffy found when he came in that these were not times in which he could manage that little matter either, and this was the second indication Sir Leicester Dedlock had conveyed to him that the country was going to pieces.