AMERICAN IDIOMS STARTING WITH P
(A) pain in the butt:
A problematic person/thing. Chronic complainer. "I hate doing my taxes. It's such a pain in the butt." "Stop being such a pain in the butt - all you do is complain!"
(To) pass the buck:
To blame someone else.
(To) pass the time:
To do something to keep busy. "What do you do to pass the time around here?"
(A) pat on the back:
A sign of approval - "To give someone a pat on the back" means to show them that you approve of something that they did.
(To) pay an arm and a leg/ pay a fortune:
To pay a lot of money. ex. "I hate to have to pay an arm and a leg for a tank of gas."
(A) peeping Tom
Someone who looks through people's windows.
(A) piece of cake:
Very easy. ex. "Hey how did you do on the test? Good - it was a piece of cake for me."
(To give someone) a piece of one's mind:
To scold, reprimand someone (for something they did). ex. "After I found out how badly Peter had treated his girlfriend, I gave him a piece of my mind."
(To) pitch in:
To help with something (especially financially). ex. "Let's all pitch in and buy him a nice present."
(To) pick up the tab:
To pay a bill. ex. "John, you picked up the tab last time - Let me pay this time."
(To) play second fiddle to someone:
To be second in importance to someone. ex. "Sam didn't join the team because they already had a star and Sam didn't wanted to play second fiddle to anyone."
(To) play something by ear:
To improvise. To see how things go and make a decision later. ex. "What do you want to do tonight? I don't know, let's just play it by ear."
(To) play it safe:
To act or be safe. To do something safely.
(To) play the field:
To date many different people instead of going steady. "After Mary broke up with Jim, she started playing the field."
(A) poker face:
A face with no expression. Also common is "to be poker-faced."
preachy:
An adjective that describes someone (or something) that tries to preach how one should live, etc. eg. "A preachy movie"
Pressed for time:
In a hurry.
(To) promise someone the moon:
To promise someone lots of extravagant things (unrealistically). ex. "He promised her the moon, but couldn't deliver on any of his promises."
(To) puke:
To vomit. To throw up.
(To) pull someone's leg:
To kid, play a joke on someone.
(To) pull a fast one:
To cheat or to deceive.
Pure gold:
If something is "pure gold" it is "the best", "fantastic", "amazing".
(To) push one's luck:
To expect continued good fortune.
(To) put up a good fight:
To try very hard. ex. "Well, although my team lost, they put up a good fight, so I'm not upset."