Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 681 pull oneself together - to become emotionally stabilized The woman tried hard to pull herself together after learning about her boyfriend's accident. pull oneself up by one's bootstraps - to better oneself through one's own efforts The boy pulled himself up by his bootstraps and decided to go back to university. pull out all the stops - to use all of one's energy and effort to achieve something My mother pulled out all the stops to make a great graduation party for my sister. pull over - to drive to the side of the road and stop I was very tired so I pulled over to the side of the road to rest. pull over (someone) - to make a car drive to the side of the road and stop The police pulled over the man because he had been drinking and driving. pull rank on (someone) - to assert one`s superior position or authority on a person of lower rank in order to get a privilege or favor The navy officer pulled rank on the other officers and was able to stay in the best room in the hotel. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 682 pull (some) strings - to secretly use influence and power Our boss was able to pull some strings and get his son a job for the summer. pull (someone`s) leg - to trick or fool someone in a playful way My grandfather is always pulling my leg when he comes to visit us. pull (something) off - to accomplish something remarkable My friend is lucky that he pulled off the new business venture with no problems. pull (something) out of a hat - to get something as if by magic, to invent/imagine something The team was able to pull victory out of a hat and win the tournament. pull (something) together - to organize something, to arrange something We were able to pull everything together and the convention was a great success. pull the plug - to quit a job The cashier suddenly decided to pull the plug and is no longer working here. pull the plug on (someone or something) - to expose someone`s secret activities The company pulled the plug on the salesman and everyone learned about his illegal sales activities. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 683 pull the rug out from under (someone) - to spoil someone`s plans, to withdraw support from someone Our boss pulled the rug out from under our plans to open another branch office. pull the wool over (someone`s) eyes - to deceive or fool someone "Don`t let that man pull the wool over your eyes with his excuses." pull through - to recover from an illness or misfortune It looked like my uncle was going to die from cancer but he pulled through and is now doing very well. pull up stakes - to move to another location We have decided to pull up stakes and move to London. . punch a hole in something - to make a hole in something I used a hole puncher to punch a hole in the sheet of paper. pure and simple - absolutely, without further complication It was pure and simple. I did not want to go away for the weekend. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 684 push off - to start, to leave The boat pushed off from the dock and started out to sea. push one's luck - to expect to continue to escape bad luck or a negative situation The woman was pushing her luck to continue to bother her neighbors with her loud music. Someone was going to complain someday. push (someone) around - to make someone do what you want The sales manager is always pushing around his salespeople. push the panic button - to become very frightened or excited at a time of danger or worry He thought that his wallet had been stolen so he pushed the panic button and told everyone that it was missing. pushing up daisies - to be dead and buried My uncle has been pushing up daisies for several years now. put Idioms put a bee in (someone's) bonnet - to give someone an idea (about something) I put a bee in my friend's bonnet with my plans to go to Germany to study. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 685 put a cap on (something) - to put a limit on something The university was forced to put a cap on the number of new students that they could accept. put a damper on (something) - to discourage something, to spoil a person`s fun The death of the company president put a damper on the anniversary celebrations. put a hold on (something) - to place a restriction on something to show that it is reserved/delayed I put a hold on several books at the library. put a spin on (something) - to interpret an event to make it seem favorable to oneself The politician tried to put a spin on the bad publicity that she had recently been receiving. put a stop/end to (something) - to bring something to an end The company is trying to put an end to the personal use of computers during office hours. put across (something) - to make oneself understood, to communicate something The speaker spends much effort trying to clearly put across what he wants to say. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 686 put all one`s eggs in one basket - to place all one`s efforts/interests/hopes in a single person or thing You should not put all your eggs in one basket and invest all of your money in the stock market. put away - to put an animal to death, to kill an animal We put away our dog because he tried to bite the small girl next door. put down (an airplane) - to land an aircraft The pilot put down the airplane very gently when they reached the airport. put down (an animal) - to take the life of an animal that is suffering The farmer decided to put down the sick horse. put down (someone) - to criticize someone, to make someone feel bad He is always putting down his girlfriend in front of his friends. put down (something) - to stop something by force, to crush something The government easily put down the rebellion by the rebel army. put down (something) - to write a record of something, to write down something He was asked by his company to put down his request for a transfer in writing. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 687 put ideas into (someone's) head - to suggest something (often bad) to someone My mother was angry because I was putting ideas into my sister's head. put in a good word for (someone) - to say something in support of someone I put in a good word for my friend when I was meeting with my boss and supervisor. put in an appearance - to appear somewhere for a short time I was forced to put in an appearance at the party although I was very tired. put in for (something) - to apply for something I put in for a transfer to another department of our company. put in one`s two cents - to give one`s opinion The girl likes to put in her two cents when she has a chance. put in (something) - to submit something I plan to put in my job application next Monday. put in (something) - to plant flowers/plants/vegetables We decided to put in some roses in our garden last year. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 688 put in (something) - to add to what has already been said Suddenly my friend put in that he was tired and wanted to go home. put in (somewhere) - to stop at a port on a journey by water The ship put in at several ports during the cruise. put in time - to spend time doing something He put in a lot of time fixing up his house and now it looks very beautiful. put off (someone or something) - to cause a bad feeling for someone, to repel someone He put off the other members of the class by complaining all of the time. put off (something) - to postpone/delay something They put off the game because of the rain. put on a brave face - to try to appear happy when faced with a bad situation My friend put on a brave face even though he had suddenly lost his job. put on a performance/play - to produce or arrange a play or other performance My sister helped put on the school play. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 689 put on airs - to act superior to others The girl was accused of putting on airs by her friends. put on an act - to pretend that one is something other than what one is The girl was putting on an act when she said that she no longer loved her boyfriend. put on clothes - to get into and wear a piece of clothing I put on my sweater before I went outside. put on one`s thinking cap - to think hard and long about something I will put on my thinking cap and try and decide what to do about finding a new job. put on the dog - to dress or entertain in an extravagant manner The couple put on the dog for the visit of their old college friend. put on the feed bag - to eat a meal I put on the feed bag as soon as I got home last night. put on weight - to gain weight He has put on a lot of weight since he stopped going to the gym. Mr_doody2004@yahoo.com 690 put one through one's paces - to make someone demonstrate what they can do The coach put the team through its paces as they prepared for the championship game. put one's best foot forward - to act or appear at one's best I tried to put my best foot forward when I talked to my boss about getting more money. put one`s cards on the table - to be frank, to tell everything I put my cards on the table and told my boss about my plans for next year. put one's dibs on (something) - to lay a claim to something I put my dibs on the most comfortable chair when I went to my friend's house. put one`s finger on (something) - to locate something precisely, to remember something exactly I was unable to put my finger on the exact date of my friend's arrival. put one`s foot down - to object strongly to something, to take firm action Our boss put his foot down and did not allow any more money to be spent on company entertainment. . forced to put in an appearance at the party although I was very tired. put in for (something) - to apply for something I put in for a transfer to another department of our company. put in. stakes and move to London. . punch a hole in something - to make a hole in something I used a hole puncher to punch a hole in the sheet of paper. pure and simple - absolutely, without. and effort to achieve something My mother pulled out all the stops to make a great graduation party for my sister. pull over - to drive to the side of the road and stop I was very tired