English idioms, proverbs, and expressions are an important part of everyday English. They come up all the time in both written and spoken English. Because idioms don’t always make sense literally, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the meaning and usage of each idiom. That may seem like a lot of work, but learning idioms is fun, especially when you compare English idioms to the idioms in your own language.
Here’s a list of “Idioms Beginning With P” in English:
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Pack Heat
Meaning: Carry a gun
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Paddle One’s Own Canoe
Meaning: To be able to act independently.
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Page-Turner
Meaning: A page-turner is an exciting book that’s easy to read, a book that’s difficult to put down.
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Pain in the Neck
Meaning: Someone or something making your life difficult
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Paint the Town Red
Meaning: Go out drinking and partying
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Par for the Course
Meaning: What would normally be expected. This has a negative connotation.
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Pass the Buck
Meaning: Transfer a problem to someone else
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Pass With Flying Colors
Meaning: To succeed brilliantly, as on an exam or other test
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Passing Fancy
Meaning: A temporary interest or attraction
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Pay Through the Nose (For Something)
Meaning: Pay a large amount of money
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Peaches and Cream
Meaning: A situation, process, etc., that has no trouble or problems
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Pecking Order
Meaning: Hierarchy, rank of importance
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Pencil Something In
Meaning: Make tentative arrangements
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Penny-Pinching
Meaning: Frugal, avoiding expenses whenever possible
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Pep Talk
Meaning: An encouraging speech given to a person or group
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Perfect Storm
Meaning: A rare combination of disastrous occurrences
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Pet Peeve
Meaning: A small thing that you find particularly annoying
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Pick a Fight
Meaning: Intentionally provoke a conflict or fight with someone
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Pick Up the Slack
Meaning: Do something that someone else is not doing; assume someone else’s responsibilities
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Pick Up the Tab
Meaning: To pay a bill presented to a group, especially in a restaurant or bar
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Pie in the Sky
Meaning: Something that is unrealistic or that cannot be achieved
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Piece of Cake
Meaning: Very easily done
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Pin Someone Down
Meaning: Demand a decision or clear answer
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Pinch Pennies
Meaning: To be careful with money, to be thrify
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Pink Slip
Meaning: A layoff notice; loss of a job, typically because of layoffs
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Pipe Dream
Meaning: An unrealistic hope, a fantasy
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Piping Hot
Meaning: Very hot (generally said of food)
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Pipped to the Post
Meaning: Defeated by a narrow margin
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Pissing Contest
Meaning: A meaningless argument or competition, typically between males
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Play Ball
Meaning: Cooperate, agree to participate
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Play Cat And Mouse
Meaning: Trying to trick someone into making a mistake so you can defeat them.
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Play Hardball
Meaning: Adopt a tough negotiating position; act aggressively
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Play it by Ear
Meaning: To play a piece of music without referencing sheet music or a recording
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Play It by Ear
Meaning: To respond to circumstances instead of having a fixed plan
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Play the Percentages
Meaning: Bet on or rely on what is most likely to happen
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Play the Ponies
Meaning: Bet on horse racing.
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Play With Fire
Meaning: Do something very risky
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Play Your Cards Right
Meaning: Exploit a situation to your best advantage
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Point of No Return
Meaning: A place from which it is impossible to go back to the starting point
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Point the Finger At
Meaning: Blame (someone)
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Point the Finger
Meaning: At Blame (someone)
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Poison Pill (n)
Meaning: A provision or feature added to a measure or an entity to make it less attractive, an undesirable add-on
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Poison Pill
Meaning: A provision or feature added to a measure or an entity to make it less attractive, an undesirable add-on
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Pop One’s Clogs
Meaning: To die
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Pop One’s Cork
Meaning: To release one’s anger; to blow one’s top
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Pop the Question
Meaning: Propose marriage
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Pot Calling the Kettle Black
Meaning: Accusing someone of something of which you are also guilty; being hypocritical
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Pour (Rub) Salt into (on) the Wound (an open wound)
Meaning: Worsen an insult or injury; make a bad situation worse for someone
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Powder Keg
Meaning: An explosive situation, a situation in which people are angry and ready to be violent
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Powder One’s Nose
Meaning: To use the restroom (lavatory). This is used by women
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Preach to the Choir, Preach to the Converted
Meaning: To make an argument with which your listeners already agree
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Preaching to the Choir
Meaning: Making arguments to those who already agree with you
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Pretty Penny
Meaning: A lot of money; too much money (when referring to the cost of something)
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Price Yourself Out of the Market
Meaning: Try to sell goods or services at such a high price that nobody buys them.
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Puddle Jumper
Meaning: A small airplane, used on short trips
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Pull Out All the Stops
Meaning: Do everything possible to accomplish something
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Pull Strings
Meaning: Use influence that’s based on personal connections
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Pull the Plug On
Meaning: Terminate (something)
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Pull Yourself Together
Meaning: Control your emotions; recover from a strong emptional upset
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Puppies And Rainbows
Meaning: Perfect, ideal (usually used slightly sarcastically, in contrast with a less ideal situation)
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Puppy Dog Eyes
Meaning: A begging look
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Puppy Love
Meaning: Adolescent love or infatuation, especially one that is not expected to last
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Pure as the Driven Snow
Meaning: To be innocent and chaste (frequently used ironically)
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Push the Envelope
Meaning: Go beyond common ways of doing something, be innovative
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Pushing Up Daisies
Meaning: Dead
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Pushing Up Daisies
Meaning: Dead and buried
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Put a Thumb on the Scale
Meaning: Try to influence a discussion in an unfair way, cheat
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Put Down Roots
Meaning: Establish oneself in a place; settle
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Put in One’s Two Cents
Meaning: Say your opinion
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Put Lipstick on a Pig
Meaning: Make cosmetic changes to something bad
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Put one’s Face On
Meaning: Apply cosmetics
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Put Out Feelers
Meaning: Make discreet, informal suggestions, ask around
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Put Someone on the Spot
Meaning: Force someone to answer a question or make a decision immediately
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Put That in Your Pipe and Smoke It
Meaning: Accept and consider what I’m saying, even if you don’t like it!
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Put the Best Face On (Something)
Meaning: Emphasize the positive aspects of a bad situation
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Put the Brakes On
Meaning: Slow something down
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Put the Cart Before The Horse
Meaning: To do things in the wrong order
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Put the Cart Before the Horse
Meaning: To do things out of the proper order.
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Put the Cat Among The Pigeons
Meaning: Say or do something that causes trouble or controversy
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Put the Genie Back in the Bottle
Meaning: Try to suppress something that has already been revealed or done
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Put the Pedal to the Metal
Meaning: Drive as fast as possible
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Put Up with (Something)
Meaning: Tolerate, accept
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Put Words Into Someone’s Mouth
Meaning: Attributing an opinion to someone who has never stated that opinion
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Put Your Foot Down
Meaning: Use your authority to stop negative behavior
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Put Your Foot In Your Mouth
Meaning: Say something that you immediately regret
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Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Meaning: Back up your opinions with a financial commitment