Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)

[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./

[pit-a-pat] <adv.> With a series of quick pats. * /When John asked Mary to marry him, her heart went pit-a-pat./ * /The little boy ran pit-a-pat down the hall./

[pitch] See: WILD PITCH.

[pitch a curve] or [a curve ball] <v. phr.> To catch someone unawares; confront someone with an unexpected event or act. * /My professor pitched me a curve ball when he unexpectedly confronted me with a complicated mathematical equation that was way over my head./

[pitch dark] <adj.> Totally, completely dark. * /A starless and moonless night in the country can be pitch dark./

[pitcher] See: LITTLE PITCHERS HAVE BIG EARS, RELIEF PITCHER, STARTING PITCHER.

[pitchfork] See: RAIN CATS AND DOGS or RAIN PITCHFORKS.

[pitch in] <v.>, <informal> 1. To begin something with much energy; start work eagerly. * /Pitch in and we will finish the job as soon as possible./ 2. To give help or money for something; contribute. * /Everyone must pitch in and work together./ * /We all pitched in a quarter to buy Nancy a present./ Syn.: CHIP IN. Compare: FALL TO.

[pitch into] <v.>, <informal> 1. To attack with blows or words. * /He pitched into me with his fists./ * /He pitched into the idea of raising taxes./ Syn.: LAY INTO(1),(2), RIP INTO. 2. To get to work at; work hard at. * /She pitched into the work and had the house cleaned up by noon./ * /He pitched into his homework right after dinner./ Compare: LAY INTO, SAIL INTO.

[pitch out] <v.> 1. To deliberately throw a pitch outside of the home plate in baseball so that the batter cannot hit the ball and the catcher can make a quick throw. * /The catcher wanted the pitcher to pitch out and see if they could catch the runner stealing./ 2. To toss the ball easily to a football back. * /The quarterback faked to the fullback and pitched out to the halfback going wide./

[pitch woo] <v. phr.>, <slang> To kiss and hug; make love. * /Mary and John pitched woo in the movies./ * /While Bob drove, Betty and Jim sat in the back pitching woo./

[pity] See: TAKE PITY ON or TAKE PITY UPON.

[place] See: HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE, HIGH PLACE, IN PLACE, INSTEAD OF or IN PLACE OF, IN THE FIRST PLACE, JUMPING-OFF PLACE, LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES TWICE IN THE SAME PLACE, OUT OF PLACE, PUT IN ONE'S PLACE, PUT ONESELF IN ANOTHER'S PLACE, TAKE PLACE.