Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц
Шрифт:
[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.