Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц
Шрифт:
[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./
[pick-me-up]{n. phr.} Something you take when you feel tired or weak. •/John stopped at a drugstore for a pick-me-up after working three hours overtime./ •/Mary always carried a bar of chocolate in her pocketbook for a pick-me-up./
[pickpocket]{n.} A thief; a petty criminal who steals things and money out of people’s pockets on a bus, train, etc. •/In some big cities many poor children become pickpockets out of poverty./
[pick off]{v.} 1. To pull off; remove with the fingers. •/He picked off the burs that had stuck to his overcoat./ 2. To shoot, one at a time; knock down one by one. •/The sniper picked off the slower soldiers as they came out into the road./ 3. To catch a base runner off base by throwing the ball quickly to a fielder who tags him out. •/The pitcher turned around suddenly and threw to the second baseman to pick the runner off second base./ Compare: OFF BASE. 4. To catch and, especially in football, to intercept. •/Alert defenders picked off three of Jack’s passes./