Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[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. /

[pound of flesh] {n. phr.} , {literary} The maximum payment authorized by law. •/ He had hoped that Peter would be lenient regarding the interest they had agreed on, but Peter demanded his full pound of flesh. /

[pound out] {v. phr.} 1. To play a piece of music very loudly on a percussion instrument. •/ The boy was pounding out the tune "Mary had a little lamb" on the marimba. / 2. To flatten something with a hammer. •/ The bodyshop uses special hammers to pound out the indentations in the bodies of cars. / 3. To produce a piece of writing on a typewriter in haste and without much care. •/ She hurriedly pounded out a letter of recommendation for the foreign graduate student. /

[pound the pavement] {v. phr.} , {informal} To walk up and down the streets; tramp about. •/ John pounded the pavement looking for a job. / •/ Mary and Bill pounded the pavement to find an apartment. /

[pour]See: IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS.

[pour cold water on]See: THROW COLD WATER ON.

[pour it on thick]See: LAY IT ON THICK.

[pour money down the drain] {v. phr.} To spend one’s money unwisely; to waste one’s funds. •/ "Stop supporting Harry’s drug habit," Ralph said. "You’re just pouring money down the drain.". /

[pour oil on troubled waters] {v. phr.} To quiet a quarrel; say something to lessen anger and bring peace. •/ The troops were nearing a bitter quarrel until the leader poured oil on the troubled waters. /

[pour out] {v.} 1. To tell everything about; talk all about. •/ Mary poured out her troubles to her pal. / 2. To come out in great quantity; stream out. •/ The people poured out of the building when they heard the fire alarm. /

[powder]See: TAKE A POWDER.

[powder room] {n.} The ladies' rest room. •/ When they got to the restaurant, Mary went to the powder room to wash up. /

[power behind the throne] {n. phr.} The person with the real power backing up the more visible partner (usually said about the wives of public figures). •/ It is rumored that the First Lady it the power behind the throne in the White House. /

[practice]See: IN PRACTICE also INTO PRACTICE, MAKE A PRACTICE OF, OUT OF PRACTICE.

[presence of mind] {n. phr.} Effective and quick decision-making ability in times of crisis. •/ When Jimmy fell into the river, his father had the presence of mind to dive in after him and save him from drowning. /

[present]See: AT PRESENT.

[press box] {n.} The place or room high in a sports stadium that is for newspaper men and radio and television announcers. •/ In baseball the official scorer sits in the press box. /

[press conference] {n. phr.} A meeting with news reporters. •/ The reporters questioned the president about foreign affairs at the press conference. / •/ The press conference with the senator was broadcast on television. /

[press one’s luck]or [push one’s luck] {v. phr.} To depend too much on luck; expect to continue to be lucky. •/ When John won his first two bets at the race track, he pressed his luck and increased his bets. / •/ If you’re lucky at first, don’t press your luck. /

[press the flesh] {v.} , {slang} To shake hands with total strangers by the hundreds, keeping an artificial smile all the way, in order to raise one’s popularity during political elections. •/ Incumbent Governor Maxwell was pressing the flesh all day long at six different hotels. / Compare: BABY KISSER.

[pressure group] {n. phr.} An organization whose goal it is to create changes by lobbying for the benefit of its own members. •/ Certain unscrupulous pressure groups stop at nothing to achieve their selfish aims. /

[pretty]See: SITTING PRETTY.

[pretty kettle of fish]See: KETTLE OF FISH.

[pretty penny] {n. phr.} A large amount of money. •/ Their new house is so big and modern that we’re sure it must have cost them a pretty penny. /

[prevail upon]or [prevail on] {v.} To bring to an act or belief; cause a change in; persuade. •/ He prevailed upon the musician to entertain instead of the absent speaker. / •/ He prevailed upon me to believe in his innocence. /

[prey on]or [prey upon] {v.} 1. To habitually kill and eat; catch for food. •/ Cats prey on mice. / 2. To capture or take in spoils of war or robbery. •/ Pirates preyed on American ships in the years just after the Revolutionary War. / 3. To cheat; rob. •/ Gangsters preyed on businesses of many kinds while the sale of liquor was prohibited. / 4. To have a tiring and weakening effect on; weaken. •/ Ill health had preyed on him for years. / •/ Business worries preyed on his mind. /

[prey on one’s mind] {v. phr.} To afflict; worry. •/ He couldn’t sleep because his many debts were preying on his mind. /

[price on one’s head] {n. phr.} Reward offered to anyone who catches a thief or a murderer. •/ The hotel manager learned that the quiet man taken from his room by the police was a murderer with a price on his head. /

[prick]See: KICK AGAINST THE PRICKS.

[prick up one’s ears] {v. phr.} , {informal} To come to interested attention; begin to listen closely; try to hear. •/ The woman pricked up her ears when she heard them talking about her. /

[pride]See: SWALLOW ONE’S PRIDE.

[pride must take a pinch]One must endure the minor pains and hardships one encounters while being made pretty. — A proverb. •/ "Mother," Sue cried, "stop pulling my hair!" "Just a moment, young lady," the mother answered, while combing her hair. "Don’t you know that pride must take a pinch?" /

[pride oneself on] {v. phr.} To be proud ot, take satisfaction in; be much pleased by. •/ She prided herself on her beauty. / •/ He prided himself on his strength and toughness. / Compare: PLUME ONESELF.

[print]See: FINE PRINT, IN PRINT, OUT OF PRINT.

[private]See: IN PRIVATE.

[private eye] {n.} , {colloquial} A private investigator; a detective. •/ Buddy Ebsen played a private eye on "Bamaby Jones." /

[progress]See: IN PROGRESS.

[promise]See: AS GOOD AS ONE’S WORD, LICK AND A PROMISE.

[promise the moon] {v. phr.} To promise something impossible. •/ A politician who promises the moon during a campaign loses the voters' respect. / •/ I can’t promise you the moon, but I’ll do the best job I can. / Compare: ASK FOR THE MOON.

[proof of the pudding is in the eating]Only through actual experience can the value of something be tested. — A proverb. •/ He was intrigued by the ads about the new high mileage sports cars. "Drive one, sir," the salesman said. "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." /

[prune]See: FULL OF BEANS or FULL OF PRUNES.

[psyched up] {adj.} , {informal} Mentally alert; ready to do something. •/ The students were all psyched up for their final exams. /

[psych out] {v. phr.} , {slang} , {informal} 1. To find out the real motives of (someone). •/ Sue sure has got Joe psyched out. / 2. To go berserk; to lose one’s nerve. •/ Joe says he doesn’t ride his motorcycle on the highway anymore because he’s psyched out. / •/ Jim psyched out and robbed a liquor store, when he has all he needs and wants! /

[Public]See: JOHN Q. PUBLIC.

[public]See: AIR ONE’S DIRTY LINEN IN PUBLIC or WASH ONE’S DIRTY LINEN IN PUBLIC, IN PUBLIC, IN THE PUBLIC EYE.

[public-address system] {n.} A set of devices for making a speaker’s voice louder so that he can be heard by more people. •/ The public-address system broke down during the senator’s speech. / •/ The news was announced over the public-address system. /