Idioms P	Back to Vocabulary..
Packed in like sardines If a place is extremely crowded, people are packed like sardines, or packed in like sardines
Pain in the neck If someone is very annoying and always disturbing you, they are a pain in the neck
Paint the town red If you go out for a night out with lots of fun and drinking, you paint the town red
Pandora's box If you open a Pandora's box, something you do causes all sorts of trouble that you hadn't anticipated
Paper over the cracks If you paper over the cracks, you try to make something look or work better
Paper tiger A paper tiger is a person, country, institution, etc, that looks powerful, but is actually weak
Par for the course If something is par for the course, it is what you expected it would be. If it is above par, it is better, and if it is below par, it is worse
Parrot fashion If you learn something parrot fashion, you learn it word for word
Part and parcel If something is part and parcel of your job, say, it is an essential and unavoidable part that has to be accepted
Pass master If someone is a pass master at something then they are very good at it
Pass the buck If you pass the buck, you avoid taking responsibility by saying that someone else is responsible
Pass the hat If you pass the hat, you ask a people  in a group to give money
Patience of Job If something requires the patience of Job, it requires great patience (pronounced Jobe)
Pay on the nail If you pay on the nail, you pay promptly in cash
Pay through the nose If you pay through the nose for something, you pay a very high price for it
Pay your dues If you have paid your dues, you have had your own struggles and earned your place or position
Pecking order The pecking order is the order of importance or rank
Pen is mightier than the sword The idiom 'the pen is mightier than the sword' means that words and communication are more powerful than wars and fighting
Penny pincher A penny pincher is a mean person or who is very frugal
Penny wise pound foolish Someone who is penny wise, pound foolish can be very careful or mean with small amounts of money, yet wasteful and extravagant with large sums
People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones People should not criticise other people for faults that they have themselves
Pep talk When someone gives you a pep talk it is to build you up to help you accomplish something
Pick up the tab A person who pays for everyone picks up the tab
Pie in the sky If an idea or scheme is pie in the sky, it is utterly impractical
Pig in a poke If someone buys a pig in a poke, they buy something without checking the condition it was in, usually finding out later that it was defective
Pigs might fly If you think something will never happen or succeed, you can say that 'pigs might fly'
Pin money If you work for pin money, you work not because you need to but because it gives you money for extra little luxuries and treats
Pinch of salt If what someone says should be taken with a pinch of salt, then they exaggerate and distort things, so what they say shouldn't be believed unquestioningly
Pink slip If someone receives a pink slip, they receive a letter telling them they have lost their job
Pipe dream A pipe dream is an unrealistic, impractical idea or scheme
Plain as the nose on your face If something is as plain as the nose on your face, it is very clear and obvious
Plain sailing If something is relatively easy and there are no problems doing it, it is plain sailing
Plan B Plan B is an alternate or fall-back position or method when the initial attempt or plan goes wrong
Play fast and loose If people play fast and loose, they behave in an irresponsible way and don't respect rules, etc
Play for time If you play for time, you delay something because you are not ready or need more time to thing about it
Play hard to get If someone plays hard to get, they pretend not to be interested or attracted by someone
Play havoc Playing havoc with something is creating disorder and confusion; computer viruses can play havoc with your programs
Play hooky If children play hooky, they don't attend school when they should and don't have a valid reason for their absence
Play into someone's hands If you play into someone's hands, you do what they were expecting you to do and take advantage of this
Play it by ear If you play it by ear, you don't have a plan of action, but decide what to do as events take shape
Play second fiddle If you play second fiddle, you take a subordinate role behind someone more important
Play the fool If someone plays the fool, they behave in a silly way to make people laugh
Playing to the audience If someone plays to the audience, they say or do things that will make them popular, but which are not the right things to do
Pleased as punch If someone is as pleased as punch they very happy about something
Poacher turned gamekeeper Someone who gets a legitimate job which is the opposite of their previous one
Poetry in motion Something that is poetry in motion is beautiful to watch
Point the finger When you point the finger at someone, you are accusing and blaming them for something
Pop the question When someone pops the question, they ask someone to marry them
Pop your clogs When people pop their clogs, they die
Pot calling the kettle black If someone hypocritically criticises a person for something that they themselves do, then it is a case of the pot calling the kettle black
Pot luck If you take pot-luck, you take whatever happens to be available at the time
Pound of flesh If someone wants their pound of flesh, the force someone to pay or give back something owed, even though they don't need it and it will cause the other person a lot of difficulty
Practice what you preach If you practice what you preach, you do what you say other people should do
Preaching to the converted If someone preaches to the converted, they talking about a subject or issue with which their audience already agrees
Presents of mind If someone behaves calmly and rationally in difficult circumstances, they show presence of mind
Pressed for time If you are pressed for time, you are in a hurry or working against a very tight schedule
Prodigal son A prodigal son is a young man who wastes a lot on money on a lavish lifestyle. If the prodigal son returns, they return to a better way of living
Proof of the pudding is in the eating This means that something can only be judged when it is tested or by its results
Pros and cons Pros and cons are arguments for or against a particular issue
Proud as a peacock Someone who is as proud as a peacock is excessively proud
Pull no punches If you pull no punches, you hold nothing back
Pull out all the stops If you pull out all the stops, you do everything you possibly can to achieve the result you want
Pull rank A person of higher position or in authority pulls rank, he or she exercises his/her authority
Pull someone's leg If you pull someone's leg, you tease them, but not maliciously
Pull strings If you pull strings, you use contacts you have got to help you get what you want
Pull the other one This idiom is way of telling somebody that you don't believe them
Pull the wool over someone's eyes If you pull the wool over someone's eyes, you deceive or cheat them
Pull up your socks If you aren't satisfied with someone and want them to do better, you can tell them to pull up their socks
Pull your finger out If someone tells you to do this, they want you to hurry up
Pull your punches If you pull your punches, you do not use all the power or authority at your disposal
Pull your weight If someone is not pulling their weight, they aren't making enough effort, especially in group work
Pull yourself up by your boot straps If you pull yourself up by your bootstraps, you make the effort to improve things for yourself
Punch bag A punch bag is a person who gets a lot of unfair criticism
Puppy love Puppy love is love between two very young people
Push comes to shove If or when push comes to shove, the situation has become some bad that you are forced to do something
Pushing up daisies If someone is said to be pushing up the daisies, they are dead
Put a sock in it If someone tells you to put a sock in it, they are telling you to shut up
Put all your eggs in one basket If you put all your eggs in one basket, you risk everything on a single opportunity
Put on airs and graces If someone puts on airs and graces, they pretend to be grander and more important than they really are
Put someone's nose out of joint If you put someone's nose out of joint, you irritate them or make them angry with you
put someone on a pedestal If If you put someone on a pedestal, you admire them greatly, idolise them
Put someone out to pasture If someone is put out to pasture, they are forced to resign or give up some responsibilities
Put that in your pipe and smoke it This is used as an unsympathetic way of telling someone to accept what you have just said
Put the carriage before the horse If you put the carriage before the horse, you try to do things in the wrong order
Put the kybosh on To put an end to something
Put two and two together If someone puts two and two together, they reach a correct conclusion from the evidence
Put you in the picture If you put someone in the picture, you tell them the information they need to know about something
Put your best foot forward If you put your best foot forward, you try your best to do something
Put your cards on the table If you put your cards on the table, you make your thoughts or ideas perfectly clear
Put your foot down When someone puts their foot down, they make a firm stand and establish their authority on an issue
Put your foot in it If you put your foot in it, you do or say something embarrassing and tactless or get yourself into trouble
Put your foot in your mouth If you put your foot in your mouth, you say something stupid or embarrassing
Put your hand on your heart If you put your hand on your heart, then you can say something knowing it to be true
Put your heads together If people put their head together, they exchange ideas about something
Put your shoulder to the wheel When you put your shoulder to the wheel, you contribute to an effort
Put yourself in someone's shoes If you put yourself in someone's shoes, you imagine what it is like to be in their position
Putting the cart before the horse When you put the cart before the horse, you are doing something the wrong way round