Commonly used english part 68 pps

Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 671 poke fun at (someone) - to joke about someone, to laugh at someone, to tease someone The woman is always poking fun at the way her husband plays golf. poke one's nose into something - to interfere with something I wish that my neighbor would not always poke her nose into my business. poles apart - to be very different, to be far from coming to an agreement The union and management were poles apart in their attempt to reach a contract agreement. polish off (something) - to finish doing something quickly/completely We polished off the work early and went to the beach for the day. polish the apple - to try to win someone's favor by flattering him or her The teacher does not like students who try to polish the apple with her. to pony up - to pay It is time for my friend to pony up and pay for the exercise equipment that he bought from me. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 672 pooped out - to be worn out, to be exhausted We spent all day painting the house so we were pooped out when we got home. pop the question - to ask someone to marry you He finally popped the question to his girlfriend after they had been dating for two years. pop up - to appear suddenly or unexpectedly I had not seen my friend for a year but suddenly he popped up for a visit last week. pose a question - to ask a question The professor stopped to pose a question to his audience. pose as (someone) - to pretend to be someone The man was posing as a reporter in order to get information about the company. possessed by (something) - to be under the control of something, to be obsessed with something The woman seemed to be possessed by her desire to be the best actress on the movie set. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 673 to be possessed of (something) - to have something The man was possessed of an ability to clearly understand and repeat what others had said. postage and handling - charges for handling and sending something by mail We bought several things over the Internet but we found that the postage and handling was very expensive. the pot calling the kettle black - a person who is criticizing someone else may be as guilty as the person he or she criticizes It was like the pot calling the kettle black when the woman who is always late for work criticized her coworker for also coming late. pound a beat - to walk a route The policeman has been pounding a beat for many years now. pound (something) out - to type something on a typewriter, to play a song on a piano I spent several hours trying to pound an essay out on my computer. pound the pavement - to look for a job He has been pounding the pavement for a few months now but he still has not found a job. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 674 pour cold water on (something) - to discourage something My boss poured cold water on my idea to change the time of our coffee breaks. pour it on thick - to flatter someone greatly The man has been pouring it on thick but the woman still does not like him. pour money down the drain - to waste money The city was pouring money down the drain when they built the new subway line. pour oil on troubled waters - to calm down a quarrel, to say something to lessen anger and bring peace to a situation The teachers tried to pour oil on troubled waters when they noticed the fight among the students. pour out - to come out in great number or quantity, to stream out of a place After the football game thousands of fans poured out of the stadium. pour out one's heart to (someone) - to tell everything about something to someone The girl poured out her heart to her mother when she returned home from work. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 675 pouring rain - very heavy rain I went outside in the pouring rain and became very wet. power behind the throne - the person who controls the person who seems to be in charge of something The general is the power behind the throne in the small country and he has much influence. the powers that be - the people who are in authority The powers that be have decided that the summer festival will not be held this year. praise (someone or something) to the skies - to give someone or something much praise The teachers praised the principal to the skies for the new policies at the school. preach to the converted - to praise or speak to those who already agree with you I was preaching to the converted when I told my friends about the advantages of the new car. precious few/little - very few, very little I had precious little time to prepare for my final exam. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 676 a prelude to (something) - an event that comes and signals another event The strong wind was a prelude to the large storm that would soon follow. press one`s luck - to depend too much on luck, to expect to continue to be lucky My uncle is pressing his luck if he thinks that he will continue to make a lot of money on the stock market. to be pressed for time - to have barely enough time My boss was pressed for time so I did not have a chance to speak to him. pretty state of affairs - an unpleasant state of affairs The mess in the kitchen was a pretty state of affairs which the woman had to return to. prevail upon (someone) - to ask or beg someone (for a favor) I had to prevail upon my friend to lend me some money for my holiday. prey on/upon (someone) - to cheat/rob someone Criminals often prey on people who are the weakest members of society. prey on/upon (something) - to catch something for food, to kill and eat something Cats usually prey on mice and small birds for food. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 677 prick up one's ears - to listen more closely (like an animal moving its ears to hear better) I pricked up my ears and listened to what the speaker was saying. pride and joy - someone or something that one is very proud of The little boy is the pride and joy of his grandparents. pride oneself on/in (something) - to take special pride in something My father prides himself on the fact that he has never been absent from work in his life. prime mover - the force or person that starts something off The group of executives were the prime movers behind the decision to close the small factory in our city. privy to something - to be uniquely knowledgeable about something I was not privy to the decision of my friend to suddenly quit his job. promise (someone) the moon - to promise something that is impossible Before the election the politicians promised everybody the moon but after they were elected they began to talk differently. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 678 prone to (something) - to be likely to do something Our manager is prone to saying some very strange things. the proof is in the pudding/the proof of the pudding is in the eating - you can only find out if an idea or plan is good by seeing what the results of trying it will be The proof is in the pudding and if the business idea is good then many people will support it. If it is not good then people will not support it. propose a toast - to make a toast before drinking We proposed a toast to our friend who was going away to study for a year. prove to be (someone or something) - to be shown or found to be someone or something The problem with the computer proved to be much easier to fix than we had thought. provided that (something is so) - on the condition that something is so We plan to go hiking this weekend provided that the weather is nice. to psych (someone) out - to find out the real motives/intentions of someone I tried to psych out the salesman to see how much he would sell the car for. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 679 to be psyched out - to be confused and disoriented The young man was totally psyched out when the robber entered his apartment. psyched up (for something) - to be mentally alert, to be ready to do something Our team was psyched up for the game but they lost anyway. publish or perish - university professors often have to publish books or articles in journals or they will not be successful in their jobs at the university The professor was forced to publish or perish if he wanted to advance in his career at the university. pull Idioms pull a boner - to do something stupid or silly I pulled a boner when I sent the E-mail message to the wrong person. pull a fast one on (someone) - to cheat/deceive someone They pulled a fast one on me when they sold me the broken stereo. pull a gun/knife on (someone) - to bring out a gun or knife quickly so that you can use it against someone The robber pulled a knife on the woman in the dark street. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 680 pull a stunt/trick on (someone) - to deceive someone If the boy pulls a stunt like he did last weekend he is going to be in much trouble with his parents. pull down (someone) - to humiliate someone The scandal pulled down the local politician from his position in the government. pull down (something) - to demolish something The city decided to pull down the old office building rather than rebuild it. pull down (something) - to lower or reduce the amount of something (a school grade etc.) The difficult chemistry course pulled down my grade average during the fall semester. pull one's punches - to hold back in one's criticism, for a boxer to hit with light punches The manager was not pulling his punches when he began to criticize his workers. pull one`s socks up - to make a greater effort to do something "You had better pull your socks up or you will not be able to continue working here." pull one`s weight - to do one`s fair share of the work "If everyone pulls their weight we can quickly finish and go home." . poke her nose into my business. poles apart - to be very different, to be far from coming to an agreement The union and management were poles apart in their attempt to reach a contract. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 679 to be psyched out - to be confused and disoriented The young man was totally psyched out when the robber entered his apartment. psyched up (for something) - to be mentally. someone The robber pulled a knife on the woman in the dark street. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 680 pull a stunt/trick on (someone) - to deceive someone If the boy pulls a stunt like he