[pass for]{v. phr.} To be taken for; be considered as. •/Charles speaks Arabic so fluently that he could easily pass for an Arab./
[passing] See: IN PASSING.
[pass muster]{v. phr.}, {informal} To pass a test or check-up; be good enough. •/After a practice period, Sam found that he was able to pass muster as a lathe operator./ •/His work was done carefully, so it always passed muster./ Compare: MEASURE UP.
[pass off]{v.} 1. To sell or give (something) by false claims; offer (something fake) as genuine. •/The dishonest builder passed off a poorly built house by pretending it was well constructed./ Syn.: FOB OFF, PALM OFF(2). To claim to be someone you are not; pretend to be someone else. •/He passed himself off as a doctor until someone checked his record./ 3. To go away gradually; disappear. •/Mrs. White’s morning headache had passed off by that night./ 4. To reach an end; run its course from beginning to end. •/The party passed off well./ Syn.: GO OFF.
[pass on]{v.} 1. To give an opinion about; judge; settle. •/The college passed on his application and found him acceptable./ •/The committee recommended three people for the job and the president passed on them./ 2. To give away (something that has been outgrown.) •/As he grew up, he passed on his clothes to his younger brother./ Compare: HAND DOWN. 3. To die. •/Mary was very sorry to hear that her first grade teacher had passed on./ Syn.: PASS AWAY(3), PASS OUT(3).
[pass out]{v.}, {informal} 1. To lose consciousness; faint. •/She went back to work while she was still sick, and finally she just passed out./ Compare: GIVE OUT(3). 2. or {slang} [pass out cold] To drop into a drunken stupor; become unconscious from drink. •/After three drinks, the man passed out./ 3. To die. •/Life came and went weakly in him for hours after surgery; then he passed out./ Syn.: PASS AWAY(3), PASS ON(3).
[pass over] or [pass by] {v.} To give no attention to; not notice; ignore, •/I can pass over the disorderliness of the troops, but their disobedience is serious./ •/In choosing men to be given a salary raise, the foreman passed Mr. Hart by./ •/She was unattractive, the kind of a girl that everybody would pass by./
[pass the buck]{v. phr.}, {informal} To make another person decide something or accept a responsibility or give orders instead of doing it yourself; shift or escape responsibility or blame; put the duty or blame on someone else. •/Mrs. Brown complained to the man who sold her the bad meat, but he only passed the buck and told her to see the manager./ •/If you break a window, do not pass the buck; admit that you did it./ Compare: LET GEORGE DO IT. — [buck-passer] {n. phr.} A person who passes the buck. •/Mr. Jones was a buck-passer even at home, and tried to make his wife make all the decisions./ — [buck-passing] {n.} or {adj.} •/Buck-passing clerks in stores make customers angry./
[pass the hat]{v. phr.} To solicit money; take up collections for a cause. •/The businessmen’s club frequently passes the hat for contributions toward scholarships./
[pass the time of day]{v. phr.} To exchange greetings; stop for a chat. •/They met at the corner and paused to pass the time of day./
[pass through one’s mind] See: CROSS ONE’S MIND.
[pass up]{v.} To let (something) go by; refuse. •/Mary passed up the dessert because she was on a diet./ •/John was offered a good job in California, but he passed it up because he didn’t want to move./ Compare: TURN DOWN.
[pass upon]{v. phr.} To express an opinion about; judge. •/George said he wanted his wife to pass up the new house before he decided to buy it./
[pass with flying colors] See: WITH FLYING COLORS.
[past master]{n. phr.} An expert. •/Alan wins so often because he is a past master at chess./
[past one’s peak]{adj. phr.} No longer as strong, efficient, or able as one once was, usually because of advanced age and decreased ability. •/He used to be a terrific athlete but we’re afraid he is past his peak./
[pat] See: PIT-A-PAT, STAND PAT.
[pat-a-cake]{n.} A clapping game that keeps time to a nursery rhyme. •/Mother played pat-a-cake with the baby./
[patch up]{v.} 1. To mend a hole or break; repair; fix. •/He patched up a couple of old tires./ •/The lovers patched up their quarrel./ 2. To put together in a hurried or shaky way. •/They patched up a hasty peace./
[pat on the back(1)]{v. phr.} 1. To clap lightly on the back in support, encouragement, or praise. •/The coach patted the player on the back and said a few encouraging words./ 2. To make your support or encouragement for (someone) felt; praise. •/After he won the game, everyone patted him on the back for days./
[pat on the back(2)]{n. phr.} 1. An encouraging tap of the hand on someone’s back; a show of sympathy or support. •/I gave her a pat on the back and told her she had done fine work./ 2. A word or gesture of praise or other encouragement; applause. •/Pats on the back weren’t enough; he wanted hard cash./
[patrol] See: SHORE PATROL.
[Paul] See: ROB PETER TO PAY PAUL.
[pause] See: GIVE PAUSE.
[pavement] See: POUND THE PAVEMENT.
[pave the way]{v. phr.} To make preparation; make easy. •/Aviation paved the way for space travel./ •/A good education paves the way to success./
[pay] See: DEVIL TO PAY.
[pay a call]{v. phr.} To visit someone. •/"Come and pay us a call some time, when you’re in town," Sue said to Henry./
[pay as one goes]{v. phr.} To pay cash; to pay at once; to avoid charging anything bought; to avoid debt entirely by paying cash. — Usually used with "you". •/It is best to pay as you go; then you will not have to worry about paying debts later./
[pay attention]{v. phr.} To listen to someone; hear and understand someone alertly. •/"Pay attention, children!" the teacher cried, "Here is your homework for next week!"/
[pay court to]{v. phr.} To woo; to shower with attention. •/He had been paying court to her for three long years before he worked up the courage to ask her to marry him./
[pay dirt]{n.}, {slang} 1. The dirt in which much gold is found. •/The man searched for gold many years before he found pay dirt./ 2. {informal} A valuable discovery. — Often used in the phrase "strike pay dirt". •/When Bill joined the team, the coach struck pay dirt./ •/Jean looked in many books for facts about her hometown, and finally she struck pay dirt./ Compare: STRIKE IT RICH.
[pay down]{v. phr.} 1. To give as a deposit on some purchase, the rest of which is to be paid in periodic installments. •/"How much can you pay down on the house, sir?" the realtor asked./ 2. To decrease a debt with periodical payments. •/I’d like to pay down the charges on my credit cards./ Compare: DOWN PAYMENT.
[pay for]{v.} To have trouble because of (something you did wrong or did not do); be punished or suffer because of. •/When Bob could not get a good job, he realized he had to pay for all the years of fooling around instead of working in school./ •/Mary was very mean to John because she wanted to make him pay for all the years in which he had ignored her./ Compare: MAKE UP(3b), PAY OFF.
[pay in advance] See: IN ADVANCE.
[pay lip service to] See: LIP SERVICE.
[payoff]{n.} Culmination point; climax. •/After many months of patient labor on your book, the payoff comes when you see the first printed copy./
[pay off]{v. phr.} 1. To pay the wages of. •/The men were paid off just before quitting time, the last day before the holiday./ 2. To pay and discharge from a job. •/When the building was completed he paid off the laborers./ 3. To hurt (someone) who has done wrong to you; get revenge on. •/When Bob tripped Dick, Dick paid Bob off by punching him in the nose./ Syn.: PAY BACK. 4. {informal} To bring a return; make profit. •/At first Mr. Harrison lost money on his investments, but finally one paid off./ 5. {informal} To prove successful, rewarding, or worthwhile. •/Ben’s friendship with the old man who lived beside him paid off in pleasant hours and broadened interests./ •/John studied hard before the examination, and it paid off. He made an A./
[pay one a left-handed compliment] See: LEFT-HANDED COMPLIMENT.
[pay one back in his own coin]{v. phr.} To retaliate. •/Jim refused to help Bob when he needed it most, so Bob decided to pay him back in his own coin and told him to go and look for help elsewhere./
[pay one’s respect to]{v. phr.} To discharge one’s social obligations by visiting someone or by calling them on the phone. •/The newly arrived people paid their respects to their various neighbors during their first couple of weeks in town./
[pay one’s way]{v. phr.} 1. To pay in cash or labor for your expenses. •/He paid his way by acting as a guide./ 2. To be profitable; earn as much as you cost someone; be valuable to an employer; to yield a return above expenses. •/The bigger truck paid its way from the start./ •/We had to offer our new manager a large salary, but he was a capable man, and paid his way./ Compare: WORTH ONE’S SALT.
[pay out] See: PAY OFF.
[pay the piper] or [pay the fiddler] {v. phr.} To suffer the results of being foolish; pay or suffer because of your foolish acts or wasting money. •/Bob had spent all his money and got into debt, so now he must pay the piper./ •/Fred had a fight, broke a window, and quarreled with his counselor so now he must pay the fiddler./ Compare: PACE THE MUSIC(2). (From the proverb "He who dances must pay the piper (or the fiddler).")
[pay through the nose]{v. phr.}, {informal} To pay at a very high rate; pay too much. •/He had wanted experience, but this job seemed like paying through the nose for it./ •/There was a shortage of cars; if you found one for sale, you had to pay through the nose./
[pay up]{v.} To pay in full; pay the amount of; pay what is owed. •/The monthly installments on the car were paid up./ •/He pays his dues up promptly./ •/He gets behind when he is out of work but always pays up when he is working again./
[peace] See: HOLD ONE’S PEACE.
[pearl] See: CAST PEARLS BEFORE SWINE or CAST ONE’S PEARLS BEFORE SWINE.
[pebble] See: NOT THE ONLY PEBBLE ON THE BEACH.
[peck] See: HUNT AND PECK.
[pecking order]{n.} The way people are ranked in relation to each other (for honor, privilege, or power); status classification; hierarchy. •/After the president was in office several months, his staff developed a pecking order./
[pedestal] See: ON A PEDESTAL.
[peel] See: KEEP ONE’S EYES PEELED.
[peel off]{v.} To dive away from a group of airplanes in a flight formation; bring one plane down from a group. •/As the group neared the home base, pilot after pilot peeled off for a landing./
[peeping Tom]{n.} A man or boy who likes sly peeping. •/He was picked up by the police as a peeping Tom./
[peg] See: SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOLE, TAKE DOWN A PEG.
[peg away]{v.} To work methodically, industriously, or steadily •/Thomson pegged away for years at a shoe repair business./ •/Jones kept pegging away, and finally recognition came./
[pen] See: POISON-PEN, SLIP OF THE PEN.
[penalty box]{n.} A place where penalized hockey players are required to go to wait until the penalty is over. •/Two players got into a fight and were sent to the penalty box for two minutes./
[penny for one’s thoughts] Please tell me what you are thinking about; what’s your daydream. •/"A penny for your thoughts!" he exclaimed./
[penny pincher], [penny pinching] See: PINCH PENNIES.
