1. Home
2. Idioms
3. sic

sic

---

---

sic somebody/something on somebody

to cause someone or something to attack someone I'm gonna sic Uncle Steve on you kids if you don't behave. He tried to sic the agency on her to draw attention away from himself.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of sic (to order a dog to attack)

See also: on, sic

sic transit gloria mundi

Nothing on earth is permanent, as in His first three novels were bestsellers and now he can't even find an agent-sic transit gloria mundi . This expression, Latin for "Thus passes the glory of the world," has been used in English since about 1600, and is familiar enough so that it is sometimes abbreviated to sic transit.

See also: sic, transit

sic on

v.

To urge or incite someone or something to attack or go after someone: The guards sicced dogs on the intruders. They threatened to sic their lawyers on us.

See also: on, sic