PC
- Politically Correct - language that is not harmful or insulting to others
eg. The university had a very strict policy that says that all material published in the school newspaper must be PC.
PE
- Physical Education
eg. My PE class was held indoors during the winter months.
PLO
- Please Leave On - used when you want to leave something on a blackboard or whiteboard
eg. Although the teacher wrote PLO on the blackboard the information was erased during the lunch break.
PM
- Post Meridiem - Latin for after noon
eg. The meeting started at exactly 1:00 PM.
POW
- Prisoner of War
eg. The negotiations regarding POWs continued for many years after the Vietnam war.
PR
- Public Relations
eg. With good PR the politician was able to easily gain the support of many people.
PS
- Postscript - written at the end of a letter when you want to add some extra information
eg. After finishing the main part of the letter I wrote PS to include something very important that I had forgotten.
PTA
- Parent-Teacher Association
eg. We got home late last night after attending our son's PTA meeting.
PTO
- Please Turn Over - written on a piece of paper to tell someone to look at the other side
eg. I wrote PTO on the last page of my essay to make sure that the professor would look at the last page.
Phd
- Doctor of Philosophy
eg. After receiving his Phd in history my friend was able to get a job at a university.
pad the bill
- add false expenses
eg. He always pads the bill when he goes on a business trip.
pain in the neck (ass)
- an annoying thing or person, bothersome
eg. Dealing with my neighbor is always a pain in the neck.
pain in the neck
- an obnoxious or bothersome person or event
eg. The customer is a pain in the neck and is always complaining about something.
paint oneself into a corner
- get oneself into a bad situation that is difficult or impossible to get out of
eg. He has painted himself into a corner now that he has begun to fight with his supervisor.
paint the town red
- go out and party and have a good time
eg. We decided to go out and paint the town red after we all passed our exams.
palm off
- deceive someone by a trick or a lie, sell or give by tricking
eg. He palmed off his old television set as one that was new and reliable.
pan out
- end or finish favorably, work out well
eg. I hope that your plans to go back to school pan out well.
par for the course
- just what was expected, nothing unusual
eg. That was par for the course. He always comes late when there is a lot of work to do.
part and parcel
- a necessary or important part, something necessary to a larger thing
eg. The house that he bought was part and parcel of a much larger piece of land.
pass away
- die
eg. His father passed away when he was about 96 years old.
pass muster
- pass a test or checkup, be good enough
eg. I wrote some of the instructions of the computer manual and will send them to my partner to see if they pass muster.
pass off
- sell or give something by false claims, offer something as genuine
eg. The man passed off the diamond watch as a real one and received much more money than it was worth
pass on
- give away something that you don`t use anymore
eg. She always passes on her old clothes to her younger sister.
pass out
- faint
eg. Three teenage girls passed out at the rock concert.
pass the buck
- shift responsibility to others
eg. He always tries to pass the buck if someone tries to criticize his work.
pat on the back
- praise
eg. He gave me a pat on the back after I finished the project.
patch up
- fix
eg. I have been trying to patch up our differences for many months now.
pay attention
- look at or listen to with full attention
eg. He never pays attention to what his supervisor tells him.
pay an arm and a leg for something
- pay a high price for something
eg. I paid an arm and a leg for my car but I am not very happy with it.
pay dirt
- dirt in which much gold is found, a valuable discovery
eg. The company hit pay dirt when they invented the new Internet equipment.
pay off
- pay in full and be free from a debt, yield good results (the risk paid off)
eg. She finally paid off her car so she has lots of extra money to spend.
pay through the nose
- pay a lot of money for something
eg. My uncle always pays through the nose when he buys a new car.
pay-off
- results of one`s work, a bribe
eg. He expects to get a big pay-off from his education when he finally begins to look for a job.
pecking order
- the way people are ranked in relation to each other
eg. The pecking order in his company is very difficult to understand for most of the workers.
peeping Tom
- someone who looks in people`s windows
eg. The police arrested a peeping Tom near our apartment building last week.
penny for one`s thoughts
- Please tell me what you are thinking about.
eg. "A penny for your thoughts," she said as she saw her boyfriend looking out of the window.
penny-wise and pound-foolish
- wise or careful in small things to the costly neglect of important things
eg. He is penny-wise and pound-foolish and is always wasting his money on things that he doesn`t need.
penny for one`s thoughts
- tell someone what you are thinking about
eg. "I will give you a penny for your thoughts", I said to my friend who was looking out of the window.
penny-wise and pound foolish
- wise or careful in small things to the costly neglect of important things
eg. My friend is penny-wise and pound foolish and economizes on small things but wastes all of his money on big things.
people who live in glass houses should not throw stones
- do not complain about other people if you are as bad as they are
eg. You should not criticize other people so much. Remember, people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
pep talk
- a speech to encourage people to try harder and not give up
eg. The coach gave his team a pep talk after they lost three games last month.
perk up
- become energetic or happy after being sad or tired
eg. My sister began to perk up after she had a chance to rest for awhile.
peter out
- die down gradually, grow less strong
eg. The large crowd from the football game has begun to peter out and the streets around the stadium are becoming quiet now.
pick a quarrel
- start a quarrel with someone on purpose
eg. I don`t like her because she is always trying to pick a quarrel with others.
pick on
- do or say bad things to someone
eg. He always picked on his sister when they were children.
pick out
- choose or select
eg. I tried to pick out a suitable necktie for my father.
pick someone`s brains
- extract ideas or information from someone for one`s own use
eg. They are always picking his brains to get new ideas for their business.
pick up
- get, receive
eg. I picked up my dry cleaning after I finished work yesterday.
pick up a trail/scent
- recognize the trail of a hunted person or animal
eg. The tracking dogs were able to pick up the trail of the criminal easily.
pick up speed
- increase the speed of
eg. The car picked up speed as it began to go down the hill.
pick up the tab
- pay the bill for someone else
eg. He picked up the tab for the dinner at the restaurant.
pick the brains of
- get ideas or information about something by asking an expert
eg. We picked the brains of the official who was sent to talk about the pollution problem.
pick up the tab
- pay the bill
eg. I picked up the tab for my sister and her three children at the restaurant.
pick-me-up
- food or a drink one takes when one feels tired or weak
eg. I stopped at the restaurant on my way home from work for a quick pick-me-up.
piece of cake
- easy
eg. That job was a piece of cake. It was the easiest thing I ever did.
piece/slice of the action
- a share in the activity or the profits of something
eg. The inventor wanted a large piece of the action of the profits from the new computer that he had invented.
piece of cake
- a task that is easily accomplished
eg. It was a piece of cake. I had everything done before lunch this morning.
pig in a poke
- something accepted or bought without looking at it carefully
eg. The stereo system he bought was a pig in a poke. He has no idea if it will work well.
piggyback
- sitting or being carried on the back and shoulders
eg. The man was carrying his child around the room piggyback style.
piggy bank
- a small bank (sometimes in the shape of a pig) for saving coins
eg. Her daughter put all of her spare money into her piggy bank.
piggyback
- sitting or being carried on someone`s back and shoulders
eg. The boy was riding piggyback on his father`s shoulders.
piggy bank
- a small bank (sometimes in the shape of a pig) for saving money
eg. He has been putting money into his piggy bank to save for a bicycle.
pile up
- accumulate, put things on top of each other
eg. He piled up the magazines on top of the small table.
pin down
- keep someone from moving, make someone stay in a place or position
eg. The wrestler won the match after he pinned his opponent down for almost a minute.
pinch pennies
- be careful with money, be thrifty
eg. He has been pinching pennies for months in order to save money for his vacation.
pink slip
- dismissal notice from a job
eg. He received his pink slip yesterday and no longer has a job.
pipe dream
- an unrealistic plan
eg. He always has a lot of pipe dreams about what he wants to do in the future.
pipe up
- speak louder
eg. We asked the speaker to pipe up so that we could hear him.
pip-squeak
- a small, unimportant person
eg. He called his friend a pip-squeak which made him very angry.
piss off
- bother or annoy someone, make someone angry
eg. My supervisor pissed me off when he asked me to work late again last night.
pitch a tent
- put up a tent
eg. We pitched the tent in a nice field beside a stream.
pitch in
- give help or money for something
eg. They pitched in and helped him finish the job quickly.
play ball with someone
- cooperate fairly with someone
eg. If you agree to play ball with the new manager things should go well for you.
play by ear
- play a musical instrument by remembering the tune and not by reading the music
eg. Although she can`t read music at all she can play by ear and is a great musician.
play cat and mouse with someone
- tease or fool someone by pretending to let him go free and then catching him again
eg. The boxer was playing cat and mouse with his opponent although he could have won easily.
play down
- give less emphasis or make something seem less important
eg. The politician played down the polls that showed that he was becoming less popular.
play footsie
- touch the feet of a member of the opposite sex under the table while flirting
eg. The couple in the restaurant were playing footsie under the table during their dinner.
play (someone) for something
- treat someone as something, act toward someone as something
eg. He was trying to play me for a fool but I could easily see what he was trying to do.
play hooky
- stay away from school or work without permission
eg. When he was a student he often played hooky and didn`t go to school.
play into someone`s hands
- do something that gives someone else an advantage
eg. If you walk out of the meeting in anger you will only be playing into his hands.
play it by ear
- decide on something according to the situation
eg. Let`s play it by ear and decide what to do after we see the movie.
play off
- match opposing persons, forces or interests for one`s own gain
eg. Nobody likes the supervisor because he is always trying to play off one group of workers against another.
play on/upon (something)
- cause an effect on, influence
eg. They played on his feelings of loneliness to get him to come and buy them dinner every night.
play on words
- a humorous use of a word to suggest a different meaning
eg. There are many cases of using a play on words in the newspaper headlines.
play one`s cards right
- take advantage of your opportunities
eg. If you play your cards right you will probably get a promotion soon.
play second fiddle to someone
- be second in importance to someone
eg. He has been playing second fiddle to his boss for years and has finally decided to quit.
play the field
- date many different people, avoid steady dates with the same person
eg. After my sister stopped seeing her boyfriend she decided to play the field until she met someone nice.
play up
- call attention to, emphasize
eg. During the job interview he played up his experience as an experienced computer operator.
play up to someone
- flatter or please someone to try and gain some advantage
eg. He is always playing up to his boss so he can leave work early.
play with fire
- invite danger or trouble
eg. You are playing with fire if you get involved with those people.
play cat and mouse with someone
- tease or fool someone
eg. He is playing a cat and mouse game with his company about his plans to quit or not.
play into one`s hands
- be or do something that another person can use against one
eg. If you become angry at his extreme actions it will only play into his hands.
play by ear
- decide what to do as one goes along to fit the situation
eg. I don`t know what time I will be back on Sunday so we should play it by ear as to a good time to meet.
played out
- tired out, worn out, exhausted
eg. I was totally played out last night so I went to bed early.
plow into
- attack vigorously
eg. We plowed into the food as soon as the waiter brought it to our table.
pluck up
- make oneself have courage
eg. He plucked up his courage and went and asked the woman for a date.
point out
- explain, call attention to
eg. She was very kind when she pointed out the mistakes that I had made.
pointed remark
- a remark clearly aimed at a particular person or thing
eg. He made a pointed remark during the meeting that was clearly designed to get my attention.
poke fun at
- joke about, laugh at, tease
eg. She is always poking fun at the way her husband plays golf.
polish off
- finish completely, finish doing something quickly
eg. We polished off the work early and went to the beach for the day.
polish the apple
- try to win favor by flattering someone
eg. The teacher doesn`t like students who are always trying to polish the apple with her.
pony up
- pay
eg. It is time to pony up and pay for the equipment that he bought.
pooped out
- worn out, exhausted
eg. We spent all day painting the house and were pooped out by the time we got home.
pop the question
- ask someone to marry you
eg. He finally popped the question to her after they had been going out together for two years.
pop up
- appear suddenly or unexpectedly
eg. I hadn`t seen my friend for almost a year but suddenly he popped up for a visit last week.
pot calling the kettle black
- a person who is criticizing someone else is as guilty as the person he criticizes
eg. I was joking to her about why she was afraid to look for another job but she said it was like the pot calling the kettle black as I also never tried to change jobs.
pound the pavement
- look for a job
eg. He has been pounding the pavement for a few months now but still has not found a job.
pour it on thick
- flatter greatly
eg. He has been pouring it on thick but she still doesn`t like him.
pour oil on troubled waters
- calm down a quarrel, say something to lessen anger and bring peace to a situation
eg. They tried to pour oil on troubled waters after they noticed the argument among the students.
pour out
- tell everything about something
eg. She poured out her heart to her mother when she returned home from work.
press (push) one`s luck
- depend too much on luck, expect to continue to be lucky
eg. He is pushing his luck if he thinks that he will continue to make a lot of money on the stock market.
pressed for time
- have barely enough time
eg. He was pressed for time so I didn`t have a chance to speak to him.
prey on (upon)
- catch for food, kill and eat
eg. Cats usually prey on mice and small birds if they can catch them.
promise the moon
- mentally alert, ready to do something
eg. Before the elections the politicians were promising everyone the moon but when they were elected they began to talk differently.
psyched up
- mentally alert, ready to do something
eg. The team was psyched up for the game but they lost anyway.
psych out
- find out the real motives of (someone)
eg. I tried to psych out the salesman to see what he really wanted to sell the car for.
pull a fast one
- cheat, deceive
eg. They pulled a fast one on him when they sold him the used car.
pull (something) off
- accomplish something remarkable
eg. He really is lucky in being able to pull off the new business merger with no problems.
pull one`s socks up
- make a greater effort
eg. You had better begin to pull your socks up or you will not be able to continue working here.
pull one`s weight
- do one`s fair share of the work
eg. If everyone pulls their weight we can quickly finish and go home.
pull someone`s leg
- trick or fool someone playfully
eg. Her grandfather is always pulling her leg when he comes to visit.
pull out of a hat
- get as if by magic, invent, imagine
eg. I didn`t think that he was going to be able to find a dictionary but he suddenly pulled one out of a hat and gave it to me.
pull over
- drive to the side of the road and stop
eg. The police pulled over the man because he had been drinking.
pull rank
- assert one`s superior position or authority on a person of lower rank in order to get a privilege or favor
eg. The navy officer pulled rank on the other officers and was able to stay in the best hotel during the trip.
pull strings
- secretly use influence and power
eg. He was able to pull some strings and get his son a job for the summer.
pull the plug
- expose someone`s secret activities
eg. The company decided to pull the plug on the salesman and tell everyone about his illegal sales methods.
pull the rug out from under
- spoil someone`s plans, withdraw support
eg. He pulled the rug out from under our plans to open a branch office in New York.
pull the wool over someone`s eyes
- deceive or fool someone
eg. Don`t let him pull the wool over your eyes with his excuses.
pull through
- recover from an illness or misfortune
eg. It looked like he was going to die from cancer but in the end he pulled through and is now doing very well.
pull up stakes
- move to another location
eg. They decided to pull up stakes and move to London.
pull one`s leg
- fool someone with a humorous account of something, trick someone
eg. The man was pulling my leg when he told me that I would not be able to enter the movie theater after the movie started.
pull out of a hat
- get something as if by magic, invent, imagine
eg. At first he said that he didn`t have any of the information but then it suddenly appeared as if he had pulled it out of a hat.
pull up one`s socks
- make a greater effort
eg. It is time that you pull up your socks and begin to work hard and take this job seriously.
pull the wool over one`s eyes
- deceive, fool someone into thinking well of one
eg. The girl tried to pull the wool over her mother`s eyes when she said that she had been studying all weekend.
pull through
- recover from a serious illness
eg. The car accident was very bad and I don't think that the driver will pull through.
pull a fast one (on someone)
- cheat someone
eg. They tried to pull a fast one on me at the car repair shop but I stopped them easily.
push (someone) around
- make someone do what you want
eg. He is always pushing around his salesmen and saleswomen.
push off
- start, leave
eg. The boat pushed off from the dock and started out to sea.
push the panic button
- become very frightened or excited at a time of danger or worry
eg. At first he thought that his wallet had been stolen but before he pushed the panic button and told everyone he looked around again and found it.
put a damper on
- discourage, spoil a person`s fun
eg. The death of the president put a damper on the anniversary celebrations.
put across
- explain clearly, make oneself understood
eg. He spends a lot of effort trying to put across clearly what he wants to say.
put all one`s eggs in one basket
- place all one`s efforts, interests or hopes in a single person or thing
eg. You should not put all your eggs in one basket and invest all of your money in the stock market.
put away
- put an animal to death, kill
eg. We had to have our dog put away because he tried to bite the small girl next door.
put down
- stop by force, crush
eg. The government easily put down the rebellion by the militants.
put in
- plant flowers
eg. We decided to put in some roses in our garden last year.
put in for something
- apply for something
eg. I put in for a transfer to another department of our company but it was refused.
put in (time)
- spend time
eg. He has put in a lot of time fixing up his house and now it looks beautiful.
put in one`s two cents
- give one`s opinion
eg. She always wants to put in her two cents when she has a chance.
put off
- postpone
eg. The game was put off because of the rain.
put on
- dress in and wear clothes
eg. Please put on your jacket before you go out.
put on one`s thinking cap
- think hard and long about something
eg. I will put on my thinking cap and try and decide what to do about finding a new job.
put on the map
- make a place well known
eg. The Woodstock rock concert really put the town of Woodstock on the map.
put on weight
- gain weight
eg. He has put on a lot of weight since he stopped going to the gym.
put one`s cards on the table
- be frank, tell everything
eg. I put my cards on the table and told him everything about the plans for next year.
put one`s finger on something
- locate precisely, remember exactly
eg. I was unable to put my finger on the exact date of his arrival.
put one`s foot down
- object strongly, take firm action
eg. He put his foot down and didn`t allow any more money to be spent on company entertainment.
put one`s foot in one`s mouth
- say something that is the wrong thing to say in a situation
eg. He really put his foot in his mouth when he told her about the surprise party.
put one`s own house in order
- organize one`s own private affairs
eg. He should put his own house in order before he tells others what to do.
put our heads together
- confer, discuss
eg. We put our heads together and finally thought of a new name for the football team.
put out
- make a flame or light stop burning, extinguish
eg. The man put out his cigarette on the theater carpet.
put one's fingers on something
- locate precisely, remember exactly
eg. I was finally able to put my fingers on the problem and find someone to help me fix it.
put one's foot down
- object strongly, take firm action
eg. My sister finally put her foot down and stopped paying for the gas for her daughter's car.
put one's foot in one's mouth
- say something that is the wrong thing to say in a situation
eg. I put my foot in my mouth when I said that I didn't like fish just before my friends served fish at their dinner party.
put on one`s thinking cap
- think hard and long about something
eg. I will put on my thinking cap and try to find a solution to the problem by next week.
put one`s foot in one`s mouth
- get into trouble by saying something embarassing or rude
eg. My colleague put his foot in his mouth when he told everyone that he didn't like the new manager.
put our heads together
- confer, discuss, talk
eg. We put our heads together with the other members of the department to try and find a solution to the problem.
put someone in his or her place
- scold someone for rude or bad behavior
eg. She was very angry and really put him in his place over the rude remark.
put someone in the picture
- tell someone what the situation is
eg. They have finally decided to put me in the picture about the new work procedures.
put the bite on someone
- ask for money or favors
eg. He is always trying to put the bite on his friends to collect money for charity.
put the cart before the horse
- do things in the wrong order
eg. I think that he is putting the cart before the horse by talking about fixing up the house before he even buys it.
put the screws to someone
- try to force someone to do or say what you want
eg. The police were putting the screws to the criminal to try and get some information.
put through the wringer
- cause a lot of stress
eg. He really put his wife through the wringer when he asked her for a divorce.
put two and two together
- understand or figure something out after learning the facts
eg. I finally put two and two together and realized that she was his boyfriend.
put the cart before the horse
- do things in the wrong order
eg. I think that buying a ticket before we make any plans is putting the cart before the horse.
put two and two together
- make a correct guess
eg. We were able to put two and two together and discover who was sending the unwanted E-mail.
put up
- provide money or something needed
eg. The telephone company put up most of the money for the new stadium.
put up a good fight
- try hard
eg. They put up a good fight but were unable to win the tournament.
put up a good front
- pretend to be happy, fool people about one`s status
eg. He always puts up a good front but actually he is very unhappy.
put up at a hotel etc.
- stay at a hotel or someone`s home
eg. We decided to put up at a hotel and continue our trip the next day.
put up or shut up
- prove something or stop saying it, bet money on what one says or stop saying it
eg. The politician was forced to put up or shut up over the plans to build a new convention center.
put up to
- persuade or get someone to do something
eg. His friend put him up to cheating on the examination.
put up with
- patiently accept, endure
eg. He makes a great effort to put up with his wife`s complaints.
put words in one`s mouth
- say something for someone else
eg. Her husband is always putting words in her mouth which makes her a little angry.
put words into one`s mouth
- say without proof that another person has certain feelings or opinions
eg. My boss was putting words into my mouth when he told me what he thought that I wanted to do.
put (someone) out
- inconvenience, bother,
eg. She shouldn`t put herself out so much when people come and visit her.
put (something or someone) out of one`s head (mind)
- try not to think about something
eg. He has been trying to put his girlfriend out of his mind since they decided to stop seeing each other.
put (something) over on someone
- fool, trick
eg. He was trying to put something over on his boss when he said that he was sick and couldn`t come to work.
put (something) past someone (negative)
- be surprised by what someone does
eg. I wouldn`t put it past him to try and sell the main part of the company and leave the rest.
put (something or someone) out of one's head/mind
- try to forget someone or something
eg. I was forced to put my holidays out of my head when we had the emergency problems at our company.
(be) put out
- be inconvenienced or irritated
eg. She was a little put out that you didn`t call her when you were in town.
Last Update: 2005/12/18