P
Idioms beginning with "P"
Part of speech, explanation, example sentences, pronunciation
Categories:
Contents of P:
[pep talk] {n.}, {informal}
A speech that makes people feel good so they will try harder and not give up.
The football coach gave the team a pep talk.
Mary was worried about her exams, but felt better after the teacher's pep talk.
[perish the thought] {v. phr.}
Let us not even think of it; may it never come true. — Used as an exclamation.
If John fails the college entrance exam — perish the thought — he will go back to high school for one more year.
* /Perish the thought […]
[perk up] {v.}
To get or give back pep, vigor, health, or spirit; become or make more lively; liven up.
He perked up quickly after his illness.
The rain perked up the flowers wonderfully.
[pet name] {n. phr.}
A special or abbreviated name indicating affection.
He never calls his wife her real name, "Elizabeth," but only such pet names as "honey," "honey bunch," "sweetheart," and "sugar."
[peter out] {v.}, {informal}
To fail or die down gradually; grow less; become exhausted.
After the factory closed, the town pretty well petered out.
The mine once had a rich vein of silver, but it petered out.
* /But as he thought of her, his […]
[photo finish] {n. phr.}
A close finish in a race of people or animals, where the camera must decide the actual result, sometimes by millimeters.
The black horse was declared the winner in a photo finish.