Чтение онлайн

[please] See: AS YOU PLEASE.

[pocket] See: BURN A HOLE IN ONE'S POCKET, LINE ONE'S POCKETS.

[pocket money] See: SPENDING MONEY.

[pocket one's pride] See: SWALLOW ONE'S PRIDE.

[point] See: AT SWORDS' POINTS, AT THE POINT OF, BESIDE THE POINT, BOILING POINT, CASE IN POINT, COME TO THE POINT, EXTRA POINT, MAKE A POINT, ON THE POINT OF, SORE SPOT or SORE POINT, STRETCH A POINT or STRAIN A POINT, TALKING POINT.

[point-blank] <adv.> Straightforwardly; bluntly; directly. * /Sue refused point-blank to discuss marriage with Sam./

[point of view] <n.> Attitude; opinion. * /From the American point of view, Fidel Castro is a bad neighbor to have./

[point out] <v.> 1. To show by pointing with the finger; point to; make clear the location of. * /The guide pointed out the principal sights of the city./ 2. To bring to notice; call to attention; explain. * /The policeman pointed out that the law forbids public sale of firecrackers./ * /The school secretary pointed out that the closing date for making applications had passed./

[point up] <v.> To show clearly; emphasize. * /The increase in crime points up the need for greater police protection./ * /Johnny's report card points up his talent for math./

[poison-pen] <adj.> Containing threats or false accusations; written in spite or to get revenge, and usually unsigned. * /Mrs. Smith received a poison-pen letter telling her that her husband was untrue./ * /To get revenge on Mary, Alice wrote a poison-pen letter to the teacher and signed Mary's name to it./

[poke] See: PIG IN A POKE, TAKE A PUNCH AT or TAKE A POKE AT.

[poke around] or [poke about] <v.> 1. To search about; look into and under things. * /The detective poked around in the missing man's office./ 2. To move slowly or aimlessly; do little things. * /He didn't feel well, and poked around the house./

[poke fun at] See: MAKE FUN OF.

[poles apart] <adj.> Completely different. * /The two brothers were poles apart in personality./ * / It was hard for the members to make any decisions because their ideas were poles apart./

[polish off] <v.>, <informal> 1. To defeat easily. * /The Dodgers polished off the Yankees in four straight games in the 1963 World Series./ 2. To finish completely; finish doing quickly, often in order to do something else. * /The boys were hungry and polished off a big steak./ * /Mary polished off her homework early so that she could watch TV./

[polish the apple] <v. phr.>, <slang> To try to make someone like you; to try to win favor by flattery. * /Mary polished the apple at work because she wanted a day off./ * /Susan is the teacher's pet because she always polishes the apple./ - [apple polisher] <n.>, <slang> A person who is nice to the one in charge in order to be liked or treated better; a person who does favors for a superior. * /Jane is an apple polisher. She is always helping the teacher and talking to him./ * /Joe is an apple-polisher. He will do anything for the boss./ Compare: EAGER BEAVER, YES-MAN.
– [apple polishing] <n.>, <slang> Trying to win someone's good-will by small acts currying favor; the behavior of an apple polisher. * /When John I brought his teacher flowers, everyone thought he was apple polishing./

[politics] See: PLAY POLITICS.

[pond] See: LITTLE FROG IN A BIG POND.

[pool] See: CAR POOL.

[pooped out] <adj.>, <slang> Worn out; exhausted. * /Everyone was pooped out after the hike./ * /The heat made them feel pooped out./

[poor as a church mouse] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Penniless; broke; extremely poor. * /The newly arrived boat people were poor as church mice./

[poor-mouth] <v.> To be constantly complaining about one's poverty; keep saying how one cannot afford the better things in life. * /Uncle Jack indulges in an awful lot of poor-mouthing, but we know that he has half a million dollars stashed away in a secret savings account./

[pop] See: EYES POP OUT.

[pop fly] <n.> A baseball batted high into the air but not very far from the plate. * /The batter hit a pop fly to the shortstop./

[pop in] <v. phr.> To suddenly appear without announcement. * /"Just pop into my office any time you're on campus," Professor Brown said./

[pop one's cork] See: BLOW A FUSE, FLY OFF THE HANDLE, LOSE ONE'S MARBLES, LOSE ONE'S TEMPER.

[pop the question] <v. phr.>, <slang> To ask someone to marry you. * /After the dance he popped the question./ * /A man is often too bashful to pop the question./

[popup] <v.> 1. or [bob up] To appear suddenly or unexpectedly; show up; come out. * /Just when the coach thought he had everything under control, a new problem bobbed up./ * /After no one had heard from him for years, John popped up in town again./ 2. To hit a pop fly in baseball. * /Jim popped the pitch up./

[pork] See: SALT PORK.

[port of call] <n. phr.> 1. Any of the ports that a ship visits after the start of a voyage and before the end; a port where passengers or cargo may be taken on or put off; an in-between port. * /Savannah is a port of call for many Atlantic coasting vessels./ 2. A place you visit regularly or often; a stop included on your usual way of going. * /It was an obscure little restaurant which I had made something of a port of call./ * /His home had become one of my regular ports of call in Boston./

[port of entry] <n. phr.> 1. A port where things brought into the country to sell may pass through customs. * /Other ports of entry have been taking business from New York./ 2. A port where a citizen of another country may legally enter a country; a port having passport and immigration facilities. * /Airports have joined seaports as ports of entry for the visiting foreigner./

[position] See: SCORING POSITION.

[possessed of] <adj. phr.>, <formal> In possession of; having; owning. * /He was possessed of great wealth./ * /He was possessed of great self-confidence./

[possum] See: PLAY POSSUM.

[post] See: PROM PILLAR TO POST.

[pot] See: GO TO POT.

[potato] See: HOT POTATO.

[potboiler] <n.> A book, play, or film written for the primary purpose of earning money for the author. * /"Reading a cheap potboiler helps me go to sleep," the professor wryly remarked./

[pot call the kettle black] <informal> The person who is criticizing someone else is as guilty as the person he accuses; the charge is as true of the person who makes it as of the one he makes it against. * /When the commissioner accused the road builder of bribery, the contractor said the pot was calling the kettle black./ * /Bill said John was cheating at a game but John replied that the pot was calling the kettle black./

[potluck] See: TAKE POTLUCK.

[potluck supper] See: COVERED-DISH SUPPER.

[potshot] <n.> A direct shot at an easy, stationary target from behind a protected position or camouflage; criticism. * /Modern journalists like to take potshots at the president of the United States./

[pound] See: PENNY WISE AND POUND FOOLISH.

[pound away at] <v. phr.> 1. To attack; criticize. * /In his campaign speeches the candidate kept pounding away at the administration's foreign policy./ 2. To work industriously. * /Mike was pounding away at the foundation of his new house with shovels and pickaxes./