small fry
Young children.
In the park, a sandbox is provided for the small fry.
Something or someone of little importance.
Large dairies ignore the competition from the small fry who make only a few hundred pounds of cheese a year.
small hours
The very early hours of the morning between 1 and 4 A.M.
My brother was in trouble for coming home in the small hours.
small talk
General idle conversation.
At the party there was the usual kind of small talk about the cost of living increase and the war in Africa.
small-time
Unimportant; minor; with little power or importance.
He has a job as a drummer with a small-time band.
It is a small-time business, but it may grow.
stone wall
brick wall
run into a stone wall
run into a brick wall
Something hard to overcome; an idea or belief that is hard to change.
The students ran into a brick wall when they asked the principal to put off the examination.
Dick tried to change Father's mind about letting him use the car Saturday night, but he was up against a stone wall.
stuff the ballot box
ballot stuffing
ballot-stuffing
To give more votes to a candidate in an election than there are people who actually voted for him.
It is a crime to stuff the ballot box.
swallow one's pride
pocket one's pride
To bring your pride under control; humble yourself.
After Bill lost the race, he swallowed his pride and shook hands with the winner.
swallow up
To do away with; absorb; engulf.
My expenses are so great that they swallow up my modest salary.