The prudent man does himself good; the virtuous man does good to others. Voltaire 1764
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PACK A WALLOP---Can strike a formidable blow.---"Wow, she really packs a wallop."---Eugene O'Neill (1922). The Hairy Ape. "He packa da wallop, I tella you!"
PACK IT IN---To quit,give up, finish, die.---"I am going to pack it in, I am tired."---Originated during WWI, service men's slang for "stop doing something".
PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE---Be independent; take care of yourself.---"He is going to have to learn to paddle his own canoe."---Marryat (1844). Settlers in Canada. "Every man paddle his own canoe."
PAIN IN THE NECK---A bother or annoyance.---"She is fast becoming a pain in the neck."---P. G. Wodehouse (1924). Leave it to Psmith. "He got there first, damn him! Wouldn't that give you a pain in the neck!" Also a pain in the ass.
new!PAINT THE TOWN RED---Go "out on the town" and have an exciting time.---"It's our anniversary and we are going to paint the town red."---A uniquely American expression. Something painted red is exciting and flashy.
PANDEMONIUM---Scene of wild disorder.---"All hell broke loose, it was pandemonium."---Coined by John Milton Paradise Lost. Writing of the high capital of Satan and his peers, Milton called the place Pandaemonium. The word was modified to its present form.
PAPER TIGER---Something less tough or menacing than it appears.---"Don't pay any attention to him, he is just a paper tiger."---Chairman Mao (1946). Referring to "reactionaries" he said: "They are paper tigers."
PAR FOR THE COURSE---Average or normal standard.---"He is late again, but that is par for the course."---Muriel Beadle (1961). These Ruins are Inhabited. "While waiting, I caught a fragment of another subscriber's telephone conversation. This is also par for the course in making an Oxford phone call."
new!PARDON MY FRENCH---Excuse me for uttering a curse.---Alludes to an out of place or curse word being injected into a conversation.---A word foreign to the conversation.
PART AND PARCEL---A key component.---"That is part and parcel of the reason I came back."---Shakespeare (1535). Henry VIII. "This present act, and every part and parcel thereof, shall estend..."
PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW---Parting can be bothe sweet and sorrowful.---Shakespeare (1594.) Romeo and Juliet.: Juliet: "Good night, good night! parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow."
PASS THE BUCK---Shift responsibility to someone else.---"They are always trying to pass the buck."---The buck was an object passed from one card player to another to signify the recipient was the next to deal.---Mark Twain (1872). The Innocents at Home. "Ante and pass the buck."
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE---Congrave (1611). Patience. "He who hath no patience hath nothing." Langland (1377). Plowman. Suffraunce is a souereygne vertue."
PAY PEANUTS GET MONKEYS---If you pay cheap wages you get cheap help; if you pay good wages you get good help.
PAY THROUGH THE NOSE---Pay an exorbitant price.---"You pay through the nose when you are on vacation."---Multiple origins. One referring to a punishment for failure to pay a 9th century Irish tax. The offender had his nose slit. Andrew Marvell (1845) The Rehearsal Transposed "Made them pay it most unconscionably and through the nose."
PAY THE PIPER---Settle an obligation.---"He made the mistake, now he must pay the piper."---The piper provided music at pubs and ceremonies, and listeners or hosts were expected to pay him. John Taylor (1638). Taylors Feast. "Alwayes those that dance must pay the musicke." 19th century saying: "He who pays the piper calls the tune."
new!PDQ---Pretty damn quick---"We have to get out of here pdq."
new!PECK'S BAD BOY---A boy who is always in trouble.---"He is a peck's bad boy."---Always in a peck of trouble.---Grafton (1569.) Chronicals "You bring your selfe into such a pecke of troubles.
PENNY WISE AND POUND FOOLISH---Overly careful about trivial things and not caring enough about important ones; tries to save money on the small end, which ends up costing much more on the big end.---"He is penny wise and dollar foolish."---Edward Topsell (1607). The Historie of Foure-footed Beastes. "If by covetousness or negligence, one withdraw from them their ordinary foode, he shall be penny wise, and pound foolish."
PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES SHOULDN'T THROW STONES---Make sure, before you accuse someone of something, that you are not guilty of the same thing.---C. Shadwell (1720). Sham Prince. "Ay cousen, no body should throw stones, whose house is made of glass."
PETER OUT---Fail; give out; fade away.---"About ten more minutes of this and I am going to peter out."---Possible: Might derive from the apostle Peter, who, when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, grasped a sword and rushed to his defense; but within the next few hours his enthusiasm had diminished to the extent that before the cock crowed he had thrice denied that he even knew Jesus.---Oral tradition: Peter Schmidt, wandered into the Ohio Valley as a day laborer. He talked a good game and found it easy to get a job. He would work hard, from sunup to sundown for a day or two. Then his pace would slow and he would begin cutting hours. Before the end of the month, he would "Peter out".---Forty-niners used a mixture of charcoal and saltpeter to make explosive charges. With its name clipped to peter, the stuff made short work of the operation and the seam would be exhausted quickly. A mine seen to yield less and less gold was said to be about ready to "peter" out.---H.H. Riley (1854). Puddleford and It's People. "He hoped this spectable meeting warn't going to peter out."
PHYSICIAN HEAL THYSELF---Lydgate (1430). Daunce of Machebree. "Good leche is he that can himself recure."
PICK HIS BRAIN---Get ideas from someone; draw on someone's experience.---"I am going to have to pick your brain on this one."---Nathaniel Willis (1850). "I sat down to pick his brains of the little information I wanted."
PICTURE OF HEALTH---Ideally fit; looking very healthy.---"You look like the picture of health today."---(1871). Punch. "He looks like the picture of health."
PIG IN A POKE (Buy a)---To buy something without seeing it.---"He sent away for it, he's getting a pig in a polk."---Thomas Tusser (1580). Five Hundredth Good Pointes of Husbandrie. The game was to put a cat in the poke (pouch) and try to sell it as a pig, persuading the buyer not to open the polk because the pig might get out. Hence the saying "let the cat out of the bag."
PIKER---A cheapskate who does not pay his way.---"Don't let him eat for nothing, he is a piker."---A piker was originally a person who walked along a turnpike built for carriages of the wealthy. Many early roads were created by private capital. In order to recover their investment, charter holders levied tolls for use of the turnpikes that were luxury highways of their era. There were fixed fees for various types of vehicles, but persons on foot were permitted to go from town to town without payment. By association with the highway he traveled, such a freeloading traveler came to be known as a "piker".
PIPE DOWN---Shut up; be quiet.---"I can't hear what is being said, I wish you would pipe down."---Aboard sailing vessels orders were given with a boatswain using a special pipe whose notes could be heard above the wind and waves. When the captain wished to give special instructions or give the crew an opportunity to voice their complaints, the boatswain piped "all hands on deck". Another signal was used to send men to their quarters below deck. Sometimes a harsh captain would break off discussions and signal the boatswain to pipe the crew down to quarters. The expression was adopted and modified at the U.S. Naval Academy. About 1890 it became customary for a man in his third or fourth year to command a plebe, "pipe down!" Instead of a command to quarters, this was a demand for silence.
PIPE DREAM---Vain hope or plan.---"He says he is going to do this and that but they are only pipe dreams."---Pipe dreams were associated with the habit of smoking opium. Smoking the opium pipe influenced several notable literary figures, with Samuel T. Coleridge being high on the list. By and large, fantasies produced by opium were that and nothing more.
PISSING AND MOANING---Complaining.---"Damn it, quit your pissing and moaning."
PISSING INTO THE WIND---An exercise in futility.---"Trying to convince him he is wrong is like pissing into the wind."
PLAIN AS THE NOSE ON YOUR FACE---Something very obvious.
---"How could you miss it, it's as plain as the nose on your face."---Thomas Whythorne (1525). "As witness my hand in great letters. Why 'tis as plain as the nose on one's face."
new!PLASTIC PEOPLE---Phoney; not real; aloof.---Social climbers, a want to be. Those who like to distance themselves from the average person. Usually overly dependent on the very people they look down their noses at.---Bible: Proverbs 16:18. "Pride goeth before distruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
PLAY HOOKEY---Skip school; be truant.---Hook was used as a verb of action, one would hook a fish. A person who decamped hastily was said to "hook it". Compulsory education gave some youngsters an incentive to "hook it" in a new way. When given the opportunity a truant would bolt off and leave school. This became known as playing hookey.
PLAY IT BY EAR---Improvise.---"We will have to play this one by ear."---John Playford (1674). A Brief Introduction to the Skill of Musicke. "To learn to play by rote or ear without a book.
PLAY ON WORDS---A pun; double meaning.---"That was just a play on words."
PLAY POSSUM---To be unresponsive; to fake unattentiveness.---"He knows everything that is going on, he is just playing possum."---Captured or set upon by another animal a possum will pretend it is dead, no amount of shaking or moving will cause it to open its eyes. As soon as the interest of the predator is otherwise distracted the possum slips off.
PLAY SECOND FIDDLE---Subservient role.---"It seems like I am always playing second fiddle to him."---By the time first and second violin arrangements became common, the musician who played first violin was the most honored member of an orchestra, second fiddle was the lesser role. Any person in a subservient role is said to play second fiddle or follow behind.
PLAY YOUR CARDS RIGHT---Make good moves; deploy your resources to best advantage.---"If you play your cards right you may just get a date with here."---Samuel Foote (1753). Englishman in Paris. "If Lucinda plays her cards well, we have not much to fear from that quarter."
PLEASED AS PUNCH---Delighted.---The hero of the Punch and Judy puppet play. Punch is always singing with self satisfaction at the success of his rascally ways. Dickens (1854). Hard Times. "When Sissy got into the school here, her father was as pleased as Punch."
POLITICIANS ARE LIKE DIAPERS, THEY NEED CHANGED OFTEN AND FOR THE SAME REASONS
POOPED---Total fatigue.---On long sea journeys sailors found that the most damage would occur if violent waves battered the stern or poop of a vessel. Any ship that managed to get out of a stormy bout with nature was sure to be "pooped" and lucky to be afloat after days of pounding. Sailors who described the splintered stern of a ship to buddies in the tavern frequently confessed that they felt as pooped as their vessel looked.
POPPYCOCK---Worthless talk; nonsense.---"Don't listen to any more of this speach, it's all a bunch of poppycock."---Charles F. Brown while writing for the Cleveland Plain Dealer around 1858, used the pen name of Artemis Ward. Since his real name was concealed, Ward ignored convention. In lieu of stilted prose, he used language that prim readers condemned as coarse or incomprehensible. Taking a dig at political oratory, he adapted a Dutch barnyard term for soft dung. "The hot air spouted by the aspirants for office, was nothing more than pure poppycock". Sensing that Ward's new word was earthy, his fans applied it to congressional debates without knowing its true meaning. Soon any kind of worthless talk came to be called poppycock.
POOR AS A CHURCH MOUSE---Genteel but hard up.---"Joe is poor as a church mouse."---The presumption being that a mouse living in a church may have elegant surroundings, but was unlikely to find food.---Corye (1672). Generous Enemies. "All that live with him are as poor as church rats."
POP GOES THE WEASEL---Spending money.---Song: "That's the way the money goes; Pop goes the weasel...." Referring to the opening and shutting of a pocketbook. "Weasel" or "weasel skin" was a popular slang name for a "pocketbook" when the verse was written.
POSSESSION IS NINE POINTS OF THE LAW---To have something in one's possession is much better than having a claim on something.---Nine of ten points of law are in your favor if you possess an item or piece of property.---Scott (1817). Rob Roy. "Take as necessary measures to secure that possession which sages say makes nine points of the law."
POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK---Accusing someone of the very fault the accuser has.---A pot on the stove, unable to see itself accusing the kettle of being black. Clark (1639). "The pot calls the pan burnt-arse."
POT TO PISS IN---Very poor.---"Poor old Joe doesn't have a pot to piss in."
POUND OF FLESH---Usually a retribution for something; completion of a bargain.---"I hope he is happy, he got his pound of flesh."---It is the payment demanded by Shylock in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.
POUR OIL ON TROUBLED WATERS---To ease a turbulent or difficult situation.---"We need to pour oil on the troubled waters."---Mariners have known for years that oil on the surface of a heavy sea diminishes its waves.
POWER CORRUPTS, ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY---People in power are often corrupt, and the more power they possess, the more corrupt they become.---William Pitt (1770.) "Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it."
POWWOW---Conference or gathering.---"When my son gets home we are going to have a little powwow."---Unless it is strictly formal and conducted under parliamentary rules, a conference or discussion is likely to be called a powwow. Among the Algonquin Indian tribes, a powwow was the medicine man who heard voices and saw visions. The powwow frequently presided over councils and rituals, and was known as the dreamer. Europeans learned that such men were often in charge of tribal talk sessions, but stumbled over their native title. Garbled into the form of powwow that title was adopted by whites to designate any gathering that involves an idea person.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT---One must practice to improve.---T. Wilson (1560). Rhetorique. "Eloquence was used, and through practice made perfect."
PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH---Do what you advise others to do.---"He needs to practice what he preaches."---William Langland (1377). Piers Plowman. "What he preaches he does not do."---Fuller (1742). "He that serves at the altar, ought to live by the altar."
PREACH TO THE CHOIR---Propound an argument to someone who already believes or supports it.---"He's preaching to the choir now."---John Stuart Mill (1867) "Dr. McCosh is preaching not only to a person already converted, but to an actual missionary of the same doctrine."
PRETTY IS AS PRETTY DOES---It is what you do that counts, not how you look.---Munday (1680). Sundry Examples. "But as the auncient adage is, goodly is he that goodly dooth."
PROCRASTINATION IS THE THIEF OF TIME---Putting off doing something which must be done eventually, wastes time.---Young (1742.) Night Thoughts.
PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING---The only way to find out if something turned out alright is to test it.---"I am sure everything was done well, but the proof is in the pudding."---14th century.
PROPHET WITHOUT HONOR---An unrecognized prophet or seer.---"I told them and they make me feel like a prophet without honor."---Bible: Matthew 13:57. "A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house."
PULL HIS LEG---Tease someone in a friendly way.---"You are just pulling my leg now."---(1867). English Dialect Dictionary. "He preached an' at last drew the auld body's leg, sae the kirk got the gatherins [money] o' our Aunty Meg."
PULL IN YOUR HORNS---Stop some aggressive action.---"Alright Linda, just settle down and pull in your horns."---D. Rogers (1642). Naaman. "Let them cause you to be ashamed, or to shrinke in your hornes ever the more."
PULL IT OFF---Accomplish something.---"It was tough but we were able to pull it off."---William Black (1887). Sabina Zembra. "We haven't pulled it off this time, mother."
PULL OUT ALL THE STOPS---To go all out.---"We need to pull out all the stops now."---An organist can use the stops on an organ to block off or open different pipes. When a stop is pulled the pipe is opened. When all the stops are pulled all the pipes are in play.
PULL THE RUG OUT FROM UNDER---Sabotage someone's plans, expectations or activity; withdraw support.---"When he took his money out of the company, he pulled the rug out from under us."---(1946). Time (mag). "Strikes, for instance, would pull the rug out from under the best of prospects."
PULL THE WOOL OVER HIS EYES---Deceive someone.---"He really pulled the wool over your eyes."---Alluded to the wool wigs commonly worn in the 19th century.---Thomas C. Haliburton (1838). The Clockmaker. "Draw the wool over his eyes."
PULL YOURSELF UP BY THE BOOT STRAPS---To improve one's position without help; to help oneself.---"I can't do it for you, you are going to have to pull yourself up by the bootstraps."---The bootstrap is a loop of fabric sewn into the inside of a boot near the top. One takes a device consisting of a handle with a perpendicular arm bearing a hook, inserts the hook in the strap and pulls up on the handle, thus easing the difficult job of getting the boot on.---James Joyce (1922). Ulysses. "There were others who had forced their way to the top from the lowest rung by the aid of their bootstraps."
PUPPY LOVE---A childish infatuation.---"It won't last long, it's only puppy love."---From the affectionate nature of the typical puppy.---W.A. Carughers (1834). A Kentuckian in New York. "Oh! It is nothing more than puppy love."
PURE AND SIMPLE---Uncomplicated; straightforward; undiluted.---"Those are the facts, pure and simple."---George Eliot (1860). "But the most ignorant journalist in England would hardly think of calling me a rival of Miss Mulock, a writer who is read only by novel readers, pure and simple, never by people of high culture."
PUSH COMES TO SHOVE---When things get serious; words must be backed up by action.---"When push comes to shove we will have to be there."---Alludes to a escalation of actions, the push and then the shove.---(1970). Calgary Herald. "If push comes to shove, make good the threat."
PUT A BRASS KNOCKER ON A BARN DOOR---Inconsistency.---"Washing that old rust heap is like putting a brass knocker on a barn door."---Elworthy (1886). West Som. Word-Book. A very common saying expressive of inconsistency is ...may as well put a brass knocker on a barn door.
PUT ON AIRS---Behave affectedly; false behavior; phoney.---"She sure likes to put on airs."---Charlotte Bronte (1853). Villette. "I hope you mean to behave prettily to her, and not show your airs."
PUT ON ICE---set aside; store; kept in reserve until needed.---"I am just going to put this project on ice for now."---Paul L. Ford (1894). The Honorable Peter Stirling. "They say she's never been able to find a man good enough for her, and so she's keeping herself on ice."
PUT ON THE BACK BURNER---Deferred until later; put in a position requiring less attention.---"We will have to put your project on the back burner for now."---(1974). Science News. "The first High Energy Astronomy Observatory satellites resumed development this year after being put on the back burner by NASA in 1973."
PUT THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE---Do things out of order; not logical.---"You have the cart before the horse, you should have painted before you put down the carpet."---More (2557). Works. "Muche like as if we woulde go make the carte to draw the horse."
PUT THE SCREWS TO---Apply pressure to influence the outcome of something; pressure someone.---"I was glad to get out of there, they were really putting the screws to me."---Comes from an era when torture was commonplace. No jailor was worth his salary until he learned how to use thumbscrews. Fastened upon a captive whose hands were strapped to his sides, these instruments of torture were tightened slowly. A sudden and abrupt turn of a screw might make a person pass out from pain and thus be unable to confess or tell what they needed to know. Today it refers to the practice of putting pressure on a person, group of people or organization to try an effect a profitable outcome.
PUT THROUGH THE MILL---Receiving rough treatment.---"I'm done for the day, I feel like i've been put through the mill."---Grain goes into the grinding stones of a mill and is pulverized into meal or flour.
PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD---Start with the best you have.---"When I interview for the job I am going to put my best foot forward."---Shakespeare (1641). Titus Andr. "Come on my Lords, the better foot before."
PUT YOUR FOOT DOWN---Take a firm stand; forbid some plan or action.---"I am going to have to put my foot down and say no."---The action of putting one's feet down firmly, as in taking a stand against someone or confronting them.---James Payn (1886). The Luck of the Darrells. "She put her foot down upon the least symptoms of an unpleasantry."
PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS---Don't talk about buying something or making a bet, let's see the money.
PUT YOUR SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL---Pitch in; help out; apply yourself vigorously to some task.---"If we put our shoulder to the wheel I think we can finish it today."---Robert Burton (1621). Anatomy of Melancholy. "Like him in Aesop, that, when his cart was stalled, lay flat on his back, and cryed, aloud, 'Help, Hurcules!' but that was to little purpose, except, as his friend advised him, he whipt his horses whthal, and put his shoulder to the wheel."
PUTS HIS PANTS ON ONE LEG AT A TIME---There are certain things in life that affect everyone, no matter what your station in life.---"He puts his pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else."---Take the element of money away and everybody becomes equal. Someone with basic skills and common sense may survive, while someone of privilege may starve to death.
PUTTING ON THE DOG---Flashy display; ostentation.---"Since he won the lottery he is really putting on the dog."---Huge profits were make during the Civil War by contractors who provided goods to the army. At the cessation of hostilities, fortunes were won from land speculation and railroad building. Members of the newly rich had plenty of money, but usually lacked culture. Seeking to win social acceptance, persons such as Diamond jim Brady made a vulgar display of opulence. Lap dogs were all the rage among wives of the wealthy. They spent large sums on pets, and each tried to top th excesses of the other. Pampered poodles became linked with the desire for show, so a person making any sort of flashy display was ridiculed as "putting on the dog".