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[over the long haul] See: IN THE LONG RUN. Contrast: OVER THE SHORT HAUL.

[over the short haul] See: IN THE SHORT RUN. Contrast: OVER THE LONG HAUL.

[over the top]{adv. phr.} 1. Out of the trenches and against the enemy. •/The plan was to spend the night in the trenches and go over the top at dawn./ •/Johnny found that he was braver than he thought he would be when his company went over the top./ 2. Over the goal. •/Our goal was to collect a half million dollars for the new school building, but we went over the top./ •/Mary was asked to sell twenty tickets, and she went over the top./

[over the traces] See: KICK OVER THE TRACES.

[over with(1)]{prep.} At the end of; finished with; through with. •/They were over with the meeting by ten o’clock./ •/By Saturday Mary will be over with the measles./

[over with(2)]{adj.}, {informal} At an end; finished. •/John knew his mother would scold him for losing the money, and he wanted to get it over with./ •/After the hard test, Jerry said, "I’m glad that’s over with!"/

[own] See: COME INTO ONE’S OWN, DOSE OF ONE’S OWN MEDICINE, HOLD ONE’S OWN, IN A WORLD OF ONE’S OWN, KEEP ONE’S OWN COUNSEL, OF ONE’S OWN ACCORD or OF ONE’S OWN FREE WILL, ON ONE’S OWN ACCOUNT or ON ONE’S OWN HOOK, ON ONE’S OWN TIME, SIGN ONE’S OWN DEATH WARRANT, TAKE THE LAW INTO ONE’S OWN HANDS, UNDER ONE’S OWN STEAM.

[own up]{v.}, {informal} To take the blame; admit your guilt; confess. •/When Mr. Jones asked who broke the window, Johnny owned up./ •/Mary owned up to having borrowed her sister’s sweater./ •/When Mother saw that someone had broken the vase, Billy owned up to it./ See: COME CLEAN.

[oyster] See: WORLD IS ONE’S OYSTER.

[p] See: MIND ONE’S P’S AND Q’S.

[pace] See: CHANGE OF PACE, KEEP PACE, PUT THROUGH ONE’S PACES, SNAIL’S PACE.

[pace off] See: STEP OFF(2).

[pace-setter], [pace-setting] See: SET THE PACE.

[pack a punch] or [pack a wallop]{v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To be able to give a powerful blow; have a dangerous fist. •/He packed a mean punch./ 2. To have a violent effect; be powerful. •/It was vodka, and it packed quite a wallop./

[pack off]{v.}, {informal} To send away; dismiss abruptly. •/When an Englishman got in trouble long ago, his family would pack him off to Australia or some other distant land./ •/Jane couldn’t really get started on her homework until she had packed the children off to school./

[pack rat]{n.}, {informal} A person who cannot part with old, useless objects; an avid collector of useless things; a junk hoarder. •/"Why are there so many things in this room?" John asked. "It is my brother’s room, and he is a pack rat; he is unable to throw stuff away."/

[packed (in) like sardines]{adj. phr.} So tightly crowded that there is hardly room to turn. •/The trains are so full during rush hour that we must go to work packed in like sardines./

[pack of lies]{n. phr.} An unbelievable story; unprovable allegations. •/What Al told us about his new girlfriend was nothing but a pack of lies./

[pack one’s bag]{v. phr.} To leave a place out of anger, annoyance, or disagreement. •/"This place is beginning to irritate me," she said to her friend. "I want to pack my bags and get out of here."/

[pack up]{v. phr.} To pack one’s suitcase for traveling; prepare a package. •/Without saying a single word, the unhappy husband packed up and left./

[paddle] See: UP THE CREEK or UP THE CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE.

[paddle one’s own canoe]{v. phr.}, {informal} To work without help; earn your own living; support yourself. •/After his father died, John had to paddle his own canoe./ Syn.: HOE ONE’S OWN ROW. Compare: MAKE ONE’S WAY.

[paddy wagon]{n.}, {informal} A police van used for transporting prisoners to jail or the police station. •/The police threw the demonstrators into the paddy wagon./

[pad the bill]{v. phr.} To add false expenses to a bill; make a bill larger than it really was. •/The salesman padded the bill for his traveling expenses by exaggerating his food expenses./

[pain] See: AT PAINS, FEEL NO PAIN, GIVE A PAIN, GROWING PAINS, ON PAIN OF, TAKE PAINS.

[pain in the ass] or [pain in the neck]{n.}, {slang}, {vulgar with ass} An obnoxious or bothersome person or event. •/Phoebe Hochrichter is a regular pain in the neck (ass)./

[paint a gloomy picture]{v. phr.} To describe something in a gloomy, pessimistic way. •/We are sad because the weather forecast has painted a gloomy picture for all of next week when we go on vacation./

[paint oneself into a corner]{v. phr.} To get oneself into a bad situation that is difficult or impossible to get out of. •/By promising to both lower taxes and raise the defense budget, the president has painted himself into a corner./

[paint the lily] See: GILD THE LILY.

[paint the town red] or [paint the town]{v. phr.}, {slang} To go out to drink and have a good time; celebrate wildly; carouse. •/It was the sailors' first night ashore; they painted the town red./ Compare: ON THE TOWN(2).

[pair] See: TAKE TO ONE’S HEELS also SHOW A CLEAN PAIR OF HEELS.

[pair off]{v.} 1. To make a pair of; put two together; associate; match. •/Mrs. Smith paired off her guests by age and tastes./ 2. To belong to a pair; become one of a pair. •/Jane paired off with Alice in a tennis doubles match./ 3. To divide or join into pairs. •/Later in the day the picnic crowd paired off for walks and boat rides./