English Idioms & Idiomatic Expressions

Packed like sardines

If a place is extremely crowded, people are packed like sardines, or packed in like sardines.

Paddle your own canoe

(USA) If you paddle your own canoe, you do things for yourself without outside help.

Page turner

A book so interesting that you can't stop reading it is a page turner.

Pain in the neck

If someone is very annoying and always disturbing you, they are a pain in the neck. Pain in the butt, or pain in the ass (USA), and Pain in the arse (UK) are less polite alternative forms.

Paint the town red

If you go out for a night out with lots of fun and drinking, you paint the town red.

Paint yourself into a corner

(USA) If someone paints themselves into a corner, they get themselves into a mess.

Painted Jezebel

A painted Jezebel is a scheming woman.

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 but only deal with superficial issues, not the real underlying problems.

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. A parrot is a bird from South America that can talk.

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 muster

If something passes muster, it meets the required standard.

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.

Pass the time of day

If you pass the time of day with somebody, you stop and say hello, enquire how they are and other such acts of social politeness.

Pastoral care

This is used in education to describe the aspect of care offered to pupils that cover things besides learning.

Patience of Job

If something requires the patience of Job, it requires great patience.

Pay on the nail

If you pay on the nail, you pay promptly in cash.

Pay peanuts

If some is paid peanuts, their salary is very low.

Pay the piper

When you pay the piper, you have to accept the consequences of something that you have done wrong or badly.

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.

Pea soup

Pea soup or pea souper can be used to describe dense fog.

Peanut gallery

An audience that interrupts, boos or heckles a performer, speaker, etc, is a peanut gallery.

Pecking order

The pecking order is the order of importance or rank.

Peeping Tom

A peeping Tom is someone who tries to look through other people's windows without being seen in order to spy on people in their homes.

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.

Pennies on the dollar

(USA) If something is pennies on the dollar, it's much cheaper than it  cost originally.

Penny ante

(USA) Something that is very unimportant is penny ante.

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 person

Someone who enjoys interacting with people as part of their job

People who live in glass houses should not throw stones

People should not criticize 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. In sports a coach might give a player a pep talk before the game to bolster his confidence. At work the boss might give you a pep talk to get you to do a better job.

Perfidious Albion

England is known to some as perfidious Albion, implying that it is not trustworthy in its dealings with foreigners.

Perish the thought

Perish the thought is an expression meaning that you really hope something will not happen.

Pet peeve

A pet peeve is something that irritates an individual greatly.

Photo finish

A photo finish is when two contestants (usually in a race) finish at almost exactly the same time, making it difficult to determine the winner. (The saying stems from the practice of taking a photograph when the winners cross the finish line to determine who was ahead at the time.)

Pick someone's brains

If you pick someone's brains, you ask them for advice, suggestions and information about something they know about.

Pick up the pace

To speed things up

Pick up the tab

A person who pays for everyone picks up the tab.

Pick-up game

(USA) A pick-up game is something unplanned where people respond to events as they happen.

Picture perfect

When something is exactly as it should be it is said to be picture perfect.

Pie in the sky

If an idea or scheme is pie in the sky, it is utterly impractical.

Piece of cake

If something is a piece of cake, it is really easy.

Pieces of the same cake

Pieces of the same cake are things that have the same characteristics or qualities.

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 get fat, hogs get slaughtered

(USA) This idiom is used to express being satisfied with enough, that being greedy or too ambitious will be your ruin.

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