Commonly used english part 65 pptx

641

pass Idioms


pass away

- to die
His father passed away when he was 96 years old.

pass for/as (someone or something)

- to succeed in being accepted as someone or something
The young woman was trying to pass for a reporter when she went to the concert.

pass muster

- to pass a test or checkup, to measure up to a certain standard
The player was not able to pass muster and was not included on the team.

pass off (something) as (something else)

- to sell or give something by false claims, to offer something as genuine when it is
not
The man passed off the watch as a diamond watch and received more money than it
was worth.

pass on

- to die

My grandmother passed on when she was 92 years old.

pass on (something)

- to give away something that you don`t use anymore
The girl always passes on her old clothes to her younger sister.


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pass oneself off as (someone or something) else

- to claim to be someone one is not, to pretend to be someone else
My friend passed himself off as a reporter and was able to get into the concert free.

pass out

- to faint
Three teenage girls passed out at the rock concert.

pass the buck

- to shift responsibility to someone else
Our supervisor always tries to pass the buck if someone tries to criticize his work.

pass the hat

- to attempt to collect money for some project
We passed the hat in order to raise money for the movie projector.

pass the time

- to fill up time by doing something
My grandfather usually passes the time reading and working in his garden.

pass through (someone's) mind

- to think about something briefly, to remember something briefly
It passed through my mind that I would need to go to the bank and get more money
before my holiday.








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a passport to (something)

- something that allows something good to happen
A university education is often a passport to a better job.

a past master at (something)

- someone who is extremely good or skillful at something
The chef is a past master at cooking with various kinds of sauces.

past (someone or something's) prime

- to be beyond the most useful or productive period of someone or something
The young skater is past her prime as a figure skater.

a pat on the back

- praise
My boss gave me a pat on the back after I finished the project.

patch up (something)

- to fix something
I have been trying to patch up my differences with my friend for many months.

path of least resistance

- the easiest way
I took the path of least resistance and decided to quit the class rather than try to pass
the course.



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pave the way for (someone or something)

- to prepare someone or something for something
The new company policy is designed to pave the way for more effective
communication in the company.


pay Idioms


pay a call on (someone)

- to visit someone
I went to the head office to pay a call on the accounting manager.

pay a king's ransom for (something)

- to pay a great deal of money for something
My friend paid a king's ransom for his new stereo system.

pay an arm and a leg (for something)

- to pay too much money for something
I paid an arm and a leg for the new frames for my glasses.

pay as you go

- to pay costs as they occur or as you buy some goods
The small business was forced to pay as they go when the bank began to look at their
loan.

pay attention to (someone or something)

- to look at something with full attention, to listen to someone with full attention
The man never pays attention to what his supervisor tells him.


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pay dirt

- dirt in which much gold is found, a profitable or useful discovery or venture
The company hit pay dirt when they published the new computer software.

pay for (something)

- to pay money for something
I paid for dinner for my friends.

pay homage to (someone)

- to praise/respect/honor someone
The entire country paid homage to their dead leader.

pay in advance

- to pay for something before it is received or delivered
I paid in advance to get the frames for my pictures.

pay lip service to (something)

- to express loyality or support for something insincerely
The city council paid lip service to the concerns of the taxpayers.

pay off

- to yield good results
My risks in starting the new business finally paid off.

pay off (something)

- to pay something in full and be free from a debt
She finally paid off her car loan so she now has some extra money to spend.


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a pay-off

- the results of one`s work, a bribe
The young man expects to get a big pay-off from his university education when he
begins to look for a job.

pay one's debt to society

- to serve a sentence for a crime (usually in prison)
The young man spent several years in prison in order to pay his debt to society.

pay one's dues

- to earn one's right to something through hard work or suffering

The young athlete worked hard to pay his dues in order to get on the best team in the
city.

pay one's last respects

- to attend the funeral of someone
Our family gathered to pay their last respects to our grandmother.

pay one's own way

- to pay the costs for something by oneself
The young man was forced to pay his own way during college.

pay (someone) a back-handed compliment

- to give someone a false compliment that is really an insult
The woman paid her colleague a back-handed compliment when she told her what a
good job she was doing.






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pay (someone) a compliment

- to compliment someone
My supervisor paid me a compliment for the work that I was doing.

pay (someone or something) a visit

- to visit someone or something
I paid the tax office a visit to try and resolve my tax problem.

pay (someone) off

- to pay someone a bribe
The man tried to pay off the customs agent to quickly get his products into the
country.

pay (someone) respect

- to have and show respect to someone
The children refuse to pay their teacher respect.

pay the piper

- to face the results of one's actions
The city government was forced to pay the piper after many years of bad
management.

pay through the nose (for something)

- to pay a lot of money for something
My uncle always pays through the nose when he buys a new car.

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pay to (do something)

- to be beneficial to do something
I decided that it would pay to buy a new car rather than fix my old car.

pay up

- to pay someone immediately
My friend told me to pay up because he needed the money.


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pecking order

- the way people are ranked in relation to each other
The pecking order in my company is very difficult for others to understand.

a peeping Tom

- someone who looks in the windows of strangers
The police arrested a peeping Tom near our apartment building last week.

peg away (at something)

- to keep working at something, keep trying something
My friend has been pegging away at his job for many years now.

a penny for one`s thoughts

- the telling to others of what you are thinking about
"A penny for your thoughts," the girl said as she saw her boyfriend looking out the
window.


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a penny saved is a penny earned

- money saved through being thrifty is the same as money earned by working
A penny saved is a penny earned and trying not to spend a lot of money is as good as
trying to earn money.

penny-wise and pound-foolish

- wise or careful in small things/purchases but not wise or careful about bigger
things/purchases
He is penny-wise and pound-foolish and is always wasting his money on things that
he does not need.

people who live in glass houses should not throw stones

- do not complain about other people if you yourself are not perfect
"You should not criticize other people. Remember, people who live in glass houses
should not throw stones."

pep (someone or something) up

- to make someone or something more active and energetic
I drank a cup of coffee in order to pep myself up for my afternoon class.

a pep talk

- a speech to encourage people to try harder and not give up
The coach gave his team a pep talk after they lost three games last month.

to perk up

- to become energetic or happy after being sad or tired
My sister began to perk up after she had a chance to rest after her long drive.





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persist in (doing something)

- to continue to do something with determination
The young child persisted in making noise that disturbed his father.

persist with (something)

- to continue with something
I am going to persist with my demand that my boss transfer me to another department.

perspective on (something)

- a way of looking at a situation and determining what is important
My friend has a very different perspective on what recently happened in his company.

to peter out

- to die down gradually, to grow less strong
The large crowd from the football game has begun to peter out and the streets around
the stadium are quiet now.

pick Idioms


pick a fight with (someone)

- to start a fight with someone (usually on purpose)
The man tried to pick a fight with his old friend.

pick a lock

- to open a lock without a key
The robbers picked the lock and entered the store.