substance

in substance

1. Concerning or related to the essential elements; fundamentally or substantially. In substance, the proposed bill would reduce the amount of calories in meals served at school cafeterias, though the details of how this would be implemented aren't yet clear.

2. Actually; in reality. I was promoted to a managerial role in the restaurant, but in substance, I'm just a shift supervisor.

take the shadow for the substance

dated To accept something false, deceitful, shallow, or insubstantial in place of something true, meaningful, or valuable. (Said especially in religious lectures or sermons about shunning or being led away from faith or the dictates of the church.) In today's modern, materialistic world, it is all too easy to take the shadow for the substance.

controlled substance

A drug whose availability is limited by law. A: "I thought you could just find your medication on the shelf at the pharmacy." B: "Nah, I'm on a new one, and it's a controlled substance, so I have a prescription for it." I'm really glad I didn't follow in my brother's footsteps and become addicted to controlled substances.

form and substance

structure and meaningful content. The first act of the play was one screaming match after another. It lacked form and substance throughout. Jane's report was good. The teacher commented on the excellent form and substance of the paper.

sum and substance

a summary; the gist. Can you quickly tell me the sum and substance of your proposal? In trying to explain the sum and substance of the essay, Thomas failed to mention the middle name of the hero.

in substance

1. In reality, essentially, as in The Archbishop of Salzburg was in substance a temporal authority as well. [Late 1300s]

2. In essence, basically, as in I don't remember all the details, but in substance this was the plan. [Late 1400s]

sum and substance

The essence or gist of something, as in The sum and substance of their platform is financial conservatism. This redundant expression-both sum and substance here mean "essence"-has probably survived owing to alliteration. Shakespeare used it in The Two Gentlemen of Verona (4:1): "My riches are these poor habiliments [clothes], Of which if you should here disfurnish me, You take the sum and substance that I have."

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Isador	IZ-a-dawr	English (Rare)
Ewald	E-vahlt (German)	German, Dutch, Ancient Germanic
Eric	['erik]
Wiktor	VEEK-tawr	Polish
Telmo	-	Portuguese, Spanish
Marinos	-	Greek