Чтение онлайн

[pedestal] See: ON A PEDESTAL.

[peel] See: KEEP ONE’S EYES PEELED.

[peel off]{v.} To dive away from a group of airplanes in a flight formation; bring one plane down from a group. •/As the group neared the home base, pilot after pilot peeled off for a landing./

[peeping Tom]{n.} A man or boy who likes sly peeping. •/He was picked up by the police as a peeping Tom./

[peg] See: SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOLE, TAKE DOWN A PEG.

[peg away]{v.} To work methodically, industriously, or steadily •/Thomson pegged away for years at a shoe repair business./ •/Jones kept pegging away, and finally recognition came./

[pen] See: POISON-PEN, SLIP OF THE PEN.

[penalty box]{n.} A place where penalized hockey players are required to go to wait until the penalty is over. •/Two players got into a fight and were sent to the penalty box for two minutes./

[penny for one’s thoughts] Please tell me what you are thinking about; what’s your daydream. •/"A penny for your thoughts!" he exclaimed./

[penny pincher], [penny pinching] See: PINCH PENNIES.

[penny wise and pound foolish] Wise or careful in small things but not careful enough in important things. — A proverb. •/Mr. Smith’s fence is rotting and falling down because he wouldn’t spend money to paint it. He is penny wise and pound foolish./

[pen pal]{n.} A friend who is known to someone through an exchange of letters. •/John’s pen pal writes him letters about school in Alaska./

[people who live in glass houses should not throw stones] Do not complain about other people if you are as bad as they are. — A proverb. •/Mary says that Betty is jealous, but Mary is more jealous herself. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones./

[pep talk]{n.}, {informal} A speech that makes people feel good so they will try harder and not give up. •/The football coach gave the team a pep talk./ •/Mary was worried about her exams, but felt better after the teacher’s pep talk./

[period of grace] See: GRACE PERIOD.

[perish the thought]{v. phr.} Let us not even think of it; may it never come true. — Used as an exclamation. •/If John fails the college entrance exam — perish the thought — he will go back to high school for one more year./ •/Perish the thought that Mary should have cancer./ Compare: GOD FORBID.

[perk up]{v.} To get or give back pep, vigor, health, or spirit; become or make more lively; liven up. •/He perked up quickly after his illness./ •/The rain perked up the flowers wonderfully./

[person] See: IN PERSON.

[pet name]{n. phr.} A special or abbreviated name indicating affection. •/He never calls his wife her real name, "Elizabeth," but only such pet names as "honey," "honey bunch," "sweetheart," and "sugar."/

[petard] See: HOIST WITH ONE’S OWN PETARD.

[Peter] See: ROB PETER TO PAY PAUL.

[peter out]{v.}, {informal} To fail or die down gradually; grow less; become exhausted. •/After the factory closed, the town pretty well petered out./ •/The mine once had a rich vein of silver, but it petered out./ •/But as he thought of her, his anger slowly petered out./ Compare: GIVE OUT.

[photo finish]{n. phr.} A close finish in a race of people or animals, where the camera must decide the actual result, sometimes by millimeters. •/The black horse was declared the winner in a photo finish./

[pick] See: BONE TO PICK or CROW TO PICK.

[pick a bone] See: BONE TO PICK.

[pick a fight] See: PICK A QUARREL.

[pick a hole in] or [pick holes in]{v. phr.}, {informal} To find a mistake in or things wrong with; criticize; blame. •/The witness said he had been walking in the moonlight last Sunday, but the lawyer picked a hole in what he said by proving that there was no moon and that it rained Sunday night./ •/Mary is always picking holes in what the other girls do./ Compare: FIND FAULT.

[pick and choose]{v.} To select with much care; choose in a fussy way; take a long time before choosing. •/He was never one to pick and choose./ •/Some people pick and choose to get something perfect, and some just because they can’t make up their minds./

[pick apart] or [pick to pieces]{v. phr.} To criticize harshly; find things wrong with; find fault with. •/After the dance, the girls picked Susan apart./ •/They picked the play to pieces./

[pick a pocket]{v. phr.} To steal by removing from the pocket of another. •/While in the train, somebody picked his pocket and took the last dollar he had./

[pick a/the lock]{v. phr.} To burglarize; open illegally; open a lock without the regular key. •/The robber got into the house by picking the lock./

[pick a quarrel]{v. phr.} To seek the opportunity for a fight or a quarrel. •/When Charlie has too much to drink, he has a tendency to pick a quarrel with whomever happens to be around./ See: PICK A FIGHT.

[pick at]{v.} 1. To reach or grasp for repeatedly. •/The baby kept picking at the coverlet./ 2. To eat without appetite; choose a small piece every little while to eat. •/He picked at his food./ 3. To annoy or bother continually; find fault with. •/They showed their displeasure by continually picking at her./ Syn.: PICK ON.

[pick holes in]{v. phr.} To criticize or find fault with something, such as a speech, a statement, a theory, etc. •/It is easier to pick holes in someone else’s argument than to make a good one yourself./