Dr. Johnson's rule will hardly suffice as a sure guide. Since is often used for ago, but ago never for since. Ago is derived from the participle agone, while since comes from a preposition. We say properly, "not long" or "some time ago [agone]." Since requires a verbal clause after it; as, "Since I saw you"; "Since he was here."
Sing. Of the two forms—sang and sung—for the imperfect tense of the verb to sing, the former—sang—is to be preferred.
Sit. See [Set].
Slang. The slang that is heard among respectable people is made up of genuine words, to which an arbitrary meaning is given. It is always low, generally coarse, and not unfrequently foolish. With the exception of cant, there is nothing that is more to be shunned. We sometimes meet with persons of considerable culture who interlard their talk with slang expressions, but it is safe to assert that they are always persons of coarse natures.
Smart. See [Clever].
Smell of. See [Taste of].
So much so. "The shipments by the coast steamers are very large, so much so [large?] as to tax the capacity of the different lines."—"Telegram," September 19, 1881. The sentence should be, "The shipments by the coast steamers are very large, so large as to tax," etc.
Solecism. In rhetoric, a solecism is defined as an offense against the rules of grammar by the use of words in a wrong construction; false syntax.
"Modern grammarians designate by solecism any word or expression which does not agree with the established usage of writing or speaking. But, as customs change, that which at one time is considered a solecism may at another be regarded as correct language. A solecism, therefore, differs from a barbarism, inasmuch as the latter consists in the use of a word or expression which is altogether contrary to the spirit of the language, and can, properly speaking, never become established as correct language."—"Penny Cyclopædia." See, also, [Barbarism].