Commonly-Used Idioms, Sayings and phrasal verbs - "P" Idioms ppt

637



P


pack a punch/wallop

- to provide a burst of energy/power/excitement
The storm packed a wallop and did much damage to the coast.

a pack of lies

- a series of lies
Everything that the man said was a pack of lies and nobody believed him.

pack them in

- to attract a lot of people
The new restaurant is able to pack them in with its new and exciting menu.

packed in like sardines

- to be packed very tightly
The commuters on the train were packed in like sardines during the morning rush
hour.

pad the bill

- to add false expenses to a bill
The salesman always pads the bill when he goes on a business trip.





638

paddle one's own canoe

- to do something by oneself
I was forced to paddle my own canoe when the rest of the staff went away for a
seminar.

a pain in the neck/ass

- an annoying/bothersome thing or person
Dealing with my neighbor is always a pain in the neck.

paint oneself into a corner

- to get into a bad situation that is difficult or impossible to get out of
My friend has painted himself into a corner now that he has begun to fight with his
supervisor.

paint the town red

- to go out and party and have a good time
We decided to go out and paint the town red after we passed our exams.

pal around (with someone)

- to be friends with someone
I have begun to pal around with a friend from my evening language class.

pale around the gills

- to look sick
My colleague was looking a little pale around the gills when he came to work today.







639

palm (something) off on (someone)

- to deceive someone by a trick or a lie, to sell or give something by tricking
The man palmed off his old television set as one that was new and reliable.

pan out

- to end or finish favorably, to work out well
"I hope that your plans to go back to school pan out."

paper over the cracks (in/of something)

- to try to hide faults or difficulties
Our boss is trying to paper over the cracks in the office and will not deal with the
problems of the staff.

par for the course

- to be just what was expected, to be nothing unusual
That was par for the course. He always comes late when there is a lot of work to do.

paradise (on earth)

- a place on earth that is as lovely as paradise
The resort in the mountains was paradise on earth.

part and parcel of (something)

- a necessary or important part of something
The house that we bought is part and parcel of a much larger piece of property.

part company (with someone)

- to leave someone, to depart from someone
The two business partners decided to part company and begin their own businesses.


640

partake of (something)

- to eat or drink something
I decided not to partake of the large dinner before the golf tournament.

partial to (someone or something)

- favoring or preferring someone or something
Our boss is partial to the new person who recently began to work in our company.

the particulars of (something)

- the specific details about something
I have no knowledge of the particulars of my father's business dealings.

parting of the ways

- a point at which people separate and go their own ways
I had a parting of the ways with my closest friend from high school.

party line

- the official ideas of a group (usually political) that must be followed by all members
The members of the political party were forced to follow the party line on most issues.

the party's over

- a happy or good time has come to an end
The party's over and I must now begin to work after my long holiday.

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.


642

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.








643

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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.

644

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.


645

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.


646

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.

647

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.







648

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.


649

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.





650

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.


651

pick a quarrel with (someone)

- to start a quarrel with someone (usually on purpose)
I do not like that woman because she likes to pick a quarrel with others.

pick and choose

- to choose very carefully from a number of possibilities
The company made an effort to pick and choose the best people for the new project.

pick at (someone)

- to be very critical of someone
The woman is always picking at her husband for very small things.

pick at (something)

- to eat only little bits of something
The boy was sick and would only pick at his food.

pick holes in (something)

- to find all the flaws and falsehoods in an argument, criticize something severely
My supervisor picked holes in my argument to buy a new computer for the office.

a pick-me-up

- food or a drink that one takes when one feels tired or lacks energy
I stopped at the restaurant on my way home from work for a quick pick-me-up.

the pick of (something)

- the best of the group
The members of the Olympic team were the pick of the best athletes in the country.


652

pick off (someone or something)

- to kill with a carefully aimed shot from a gun or other weapon
The police were easily able to pick off the man who was shooting the rifle.

pick on (someone)

- to do or say bad things to someone
The boy always picked on his sister when they were children.

pick on someone your own size

- to abuse/bully someone who is big enough to fight back
The older boy told the other boy to pick on someone his own size when he was

fighting with the smaller boy.

pick one's way through (something)

- to work slowly through written material
I picked my way through the material that I had to study for the exam.

pick out (something)

- to choose or select something
I tried to pick out a nice necktie for my father.

pick (someone`s) brains

- to extract ideas or information from someone for one`s own use
They are always picking my brains to get new ideas for their business.

pick (something) over

- to sort through something
The customers picked the best clothes over at the department store sale.


653

pick up a radio wave etc.

- to catch or receive the sound of a radio etc.
We could not pick up any radio stations when we were travelling through the
mountains.

pick up a trail/scent

- to recognize the trail of a hunted person or animal
The tracking dogs were easily able to pick up the trail of the criminal.

pick up (someone)

- to take someone to the police station, to arrest someone
The police picked up the man for drinking and driving.

pick up (someone)

- to take on passengers in a bus/car/train etc.
The bus picked up my mother at six o`clock in the morning.

pick up (something)

- to get/receive something
I picked up my dry cleaning after I finished work yesterday.

pick up (something)

- to learn something without formal study
I picked up a lot of French when I lived in France for a year.

pick up (something)

- to take something that has fallen on the floor/ground and put it somewhere else
"Could you please pick up my pen from the floor."

654

pick up (something)

- to start again after an interruption
It was getting late so we decided to stop work and pick up where we left off the next
day.

pick up speed

- to increase the speed of something
The car picked up speed as it began to go down the hill.

pick up the tab

- to pay the bill for someone else
I picked up the tab for the dinner at the restaurant.


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picked over

- rejected, worn
All of the best shoes were picked over in the shoe sale.

the picture of (something)

- the perfect example of something
My father was the picture of health when I saw him last month.

pie in the sky

- a goal/plan that is too optimistic, a future reward after death
The boy's plans for his summer were pie in the sky. He would never complete them.


655

a piece of cake

- easy
That job was a piece of cake. It was the easiest thing that I ever did.

a piece of the action

- a share in a scheme or project
The small company was able to get a piece of the action with the large building
contract.

a pig in a poke

- something accepted or bought without looking at it carefully
The stereo system that he bought was a pig in a poke. He has no idea if it will work
well.

a piggy bank

- a small bank (sometimes in the shape of a pig) for saving coins
Her daughter put all of her spare money into her piggy bank.

piggyback

- sitting or being carried on the back and shoulders
The man was carrying his child around the room piggyback style.

pile into (something)

- to climb into something roughly
The teenagers piled into the old car after school.







656

pile out of (something)

- to get out of something roughly
The passengers quickly piled out of the bus when it arrived at the station.

pile up

- to accumulate, to put things on top of each other
I piled up the magazines on top of the small table.

a pillar of strength/support

- someone who provides strong support for someone, a strong/powerful person
The man is a pillar of strength in the community.

pin one's hopes/faith on (someone or something)

- to put one's hope/trust/faith in someone or something
I am not going to pin my hopes on getting a promotion next month.

pin (someone) down

- to keep someone from moving, to make someone stay in a place or position
The wrestler won the match after he pinned his opponent down for almost a minute.

pin (someone) down

- to make someone tell the truth or make a commitment
I could not pin my friend down as to exactly when he would pay back the money that
he owed me.

pin (something) on (someone)

- to place the blame for something on someone
My friend tried to pin the blame for breaking the computer on me.

657

pinch-hit for (someone)

- to substitute for someone
The best batter on the team was asked to pinch-hit for the injured player.

pinch pennies

- to be careful with money, to be thrifty
He has been pinching pennies for many months in order to save money for his
vacation.

a pink slip

- a dismissal notice from a job
He received his pink slip yesterday and no longer has a job.

pins and needles

- a tingling feeling in one's arms and legs, feeling excitement
I was on pins and needles all day as I waited to hear the results of the exam.

pipe down

- to be quiet, to get quiet
The teacher asked the children to pipe down in the classroom.

a pipe dream

- an unrealistic plan
He always has a lot of pipe dreams about what he wants to do in the future.

pipe up

- to speak louder
We asked the speaker to pipe up so that we could hear him.


658

pipe up with (something)

- to speak up and say something
The student piped up with a comment from the back of the class.

piping hot

- extremely hot
The food from the kitchen was piping hot when the waiter brought it to the table.

a pip-squeak

- a small and unimportant person
The boy called his friend a pip-squeak which made him very angry.

pique (someone's) interest/curiosity

- arouse interest/curiosity
The conversation with the filmmaker piqued my interest and I begin to watch more

movies.

piss (someone) off

- to bother or annoy someone, to make someone angry
My supervisor pissed me off when he asked me to work late again last night.

pit (someone or something) against (someone or something)

- to set one group/person against another
The fight over the new shopping center pit the property owners against the local
businesses.







659

pitch a tent

- to put up a tent
We pitched the tent in a field beside a stream.

pitch-black

- to be very black
It was pitch-black when we left the restaurant to return home.

pitch camp

- to set up or arrange a campsite
We stopped for the night next to a small river and pitched camp.

pitch-dark

- very dark
It was pitch-dark when I took the garbage out to the garbage can.

pitch in

- to give help or money for something
My friends pitched in and helped me finish the job quickly.

pitch (someone) a curve (ball)

- to surprise someone with an unexpected act or event
The lawyer pitched the woman a curve when he began to ask questions unrelated to
the court case.

place an order

- to submit an order
I recently placed an order for a new and smaller refridgerator.


660

place (someone)

- to recall someone's name
I could not place the woman at the meeting but I knew that I had met her before.

place the blame on (someone or something)

- to blame someone or something
The teacher placed the blame on the boys for breaking the flower vase.

plain and simple

- absolutely, without further complication or elaboration
It was plain and simple. I decided to buy the car and I did not want to talk about it
further.


play Idioms


play a joke/trick on (someone)

- to do a joke/trick that affects someone
The boy played a trick on his teacher.

play along with (someone or something)

- to agree to cooperate with someone's plan
I decided to play along with my friend and his crazy plan to buy a horse.

play around/about with (someone or something)

- to engage in some play with someone or something
The little boy was playing around with the dog when his mother entered the room.


661

play ball with (someone)

- to cooperate with someone, to join in an effort with others
"If you play ball with the new manager things should go well for you."

play both ends (against the middle/center)

- to scheme in a way that pits two sides against each other
The man was trying to play both ends against the middle when he tried to negotiate
with the two departments in his company.

play by ear

- to play a musical instrument by remembering the tune and not by reading the music
Although the woman can't read music she can play by ear and is a very good
musician.

a play-by-play description

- a description of an event as it is taking place
The announcer gave a play-by-play description of the championship game.

play cat and mouse with (someone)

- to tease or fool someone/something by pretending to let them go free and then
catching him/her/it again
The boxer was playing cat and mouse with his opponent although he could have won
the match easily.

play down (someone or something)

- to give less emphasis to someone or something, to make someone or something
seem less important
The politician played down the survey that showed that he was becoming less
popular.