Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)
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[pig out] <v. phr.> 1. To eat a tremendous amount of food. * /"I always pig out on my birthday," she confessed./ 2. To peruse; have great fun with; indulge in for a longer period of time. * /"Go to bed and pig out on a good mystery story," the doctor recommended./
[pile up] <v. phr.> 1. To grow into a big heap. * /He didn't go into his office for three days and his work kept piling up./ 2. To run aground. * /Boats often pile up on the rocks in the shallow water./ 3. To crash. * /One car made a sudden stop and the two cars behind it piled up./
[pile-up] <n.> 1. A heap; a deposit of one object on top of another. * /There is a huge pile-up of junked cars in this vacant lot./ 2. A large number of objects in the same place, said of traffic. * /I was late because of the traffic pile-up on the highway./
[pill] See: BITTER PILL.
[pillar of society] <n. phr.> A leading figure who contributes to the support and the well-being of his/her society; a person of irreproachable character. * /Mrs. Brown, the director of our classical symphony fund, is a true pillar of society./
[pillar to post] See: FROM PILLAR TO POST.
[pimple] See: GOOSE BUMPS or GOOSE PIMPLES.
[pin] See: ON PINS AND NEEDLES.
[pinch] See: TAKE WITH A GRAIN OF SALT also TAKE WITH A PINCH OF SALT, WHERE THE SHOE PINCHES.
[pinch and scrape] <v. phr.> To save as much money as possible by spending as little as possible. * /They are trying to buy their first house so they are pinching and scraping every penny they can./
[pinch-hit] <v.> 1. To substitute for another player at bat in a baseball game. * /Smith was sent in to pinch-hit for Jones./ 2. <informal> To act for a while, or in an emergency, for another person; take someone's place for a while. * /I asked him to pinch-hit for me while I was away./ * /The president of the City Council pinch-hits for the mayor when the mayor is out of town./ - [pinch-hitter] <n.> * /Jones was hit by a pitched ball and Smith came in as a pinch-hitter./ * /When our teacher was sick, Mrs. Harris was called as a pinch-hitter./ - [pinch-hitting] <adj.> or <n.> * /Pinch-hitting for another teacher is a hard job./
[pinch pennies] <v. phr.>, <informal> Not spend a penny more than necessary; be very saving or thrifty. * /When Tom and Mary were saving money to buy a house, they had to pinch pennies./ - [penny-pincher] <n.>, <informal> A stingy or selfish person; miser. * /He spent so little money that he began to get the name of a penny-pincher./ [penny-pinching] <adj.> or <n.>, <informal> * /Bob saved enough money by penny-pinching to buy a bicycle./
[pin curl] <n.> A curl made with a hair clip or bobby pin. * /Mary washed her hair and put it up in pin curls./ * /All the girls had their hair in pin curls to get ready for the party./
[pin down] <v.> 1a. To keep (someone) from moving; make stay in a place or position; trap. * /Mr. Jones' leg was pinned down under the car after the accident./ * /The soldier was pinned down in the hole because rifle bullets were flying over his head./ 1b. To keep (someone) from changing what (he) says or means; make (someone) admit the truth; make (someone) agree to something. * /Mary didn't like the book but I couldn't pin her down to say what she didn't like about it./ * /I tried to pin Bob down to fix my bicycle tomorrow, but he wouldn't say that he could./ 2. To tell clearly and exactly; explain so that there is no doubt. * /The police tried to pin down the blame for the fire in the school./
[pine away] <v. phr.> To waste away with grief. * /After George was sent abroad, his wife pined away for him so much that she became ill./
[pink] See: IN THE PINK, TICKLE PINK.
[pink around the gills] See: GREEN AROUND THE GILLS.
[pin money] <n. phr.> Extra money used for incidentals. * /She has a regular full-time job but she earns extra pin money by doing a lot of baby-sitting./
[pin one's ears back] <v. phr.>, <slang> 1. To beat; defeat. * /After winning three games in a row, the Reds had their ears pinned back by the Blues./ 2. To scold. * /Mrs. Smith pinned Mary's ears back for not doing her homework./
[pin one's faith on] <v. phr.> To depend upon; trust. * /We pinned our faith on our home basketball team to win the state finals, and they did!/
[pin one's heart on one's sleeve] See: WEAR ONE'S HEART ON ONE'S SLEEVE.
[pint-size] <adj.>, <informal> Very small. * /The new pint-size, portable TV sets have a very clear picture./ * /It was funny to hear a pint-size voice coming out of a great big man./
[pinup girl] <v. phr.> An attractive girl whose picture is pinned or tacked to the wall by an admirer. * /Some Hollywood actresses are understandably very popular pinup girls among male soldiers./
[pipe] See: PUT THAT IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT.
[pipe down] <v.> 1. To call (sailors) away from work with a whistle. * /He piped the men down after boat drill./ 2. <slang> To stop talking; shut up; be quiet. * /"Oh, pipe down," he called./ Often considered rude.
[pipe dream] <n.>, <informal> An unrealizable, financially unsound, wishful way of thinking; an unrealistic plan. * /Joe went through the motions of pretending that he wanted to buy that $250,000 house, but his wife candidly told the real estate lady that it was just a pipe dream./ Compare: PIE IN THE SKY.
[piper] See: PAY THE PIPER.
[pipe up] <v.>, <informal> To speak up; to be heard. * /Mary is so shy, everyone was surprised when she piped up with a complaint at the club meeting./ * /Everyone was afraid to talk to the police, but a small child piped up./
[pip-squeak] <n.>, <informal> A small, unimportant person. * /If the club is really democratic, then every little pip-squeak has the right to say what he thinks./ * /When the smallest boy was chosen to be the monitor, the class bully said he would not obey a little pip-squeak./
[piss off] <v.>, <slang>, <vulgar>, <avoidable> To bother; annoy; irritate. * /You really piss me off when you talk like that./ [pissed off] <adj.> * /Why act so pissed off just because I made a pass at you?/
[pit against] <v.> To match against; oppose to; put in opposition to; place in competition or rivalry with. * /The game pits two of the best pro football teams in the East against each other./ * /He pitted his endurance against the other man's speed./ * /He was pitted against an opponent just as smart as he was./