[pay attention]{v. phr.} To listen to someone; hear and understandsomeone alertly. •/"Pay attention, children!" the teacher cried, "Here isyour homework for next week!"/

[pay court to]{v. phr.} To woo; to shower with attention. •/He hadbeen paying court to her for three long years before he worked up the courageto 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 paydirt". •/When Bill joined the team, the coach struck pay dirt./ •/Jeanlooked in many books for facts about her hometown, and finally she struck paydirt./ Compare: STRIKE IT RICH.

[pay down]{v. phr.} 1. To give as a deposit on some purchase, the restof which is to be paid in periodic installments. •/"How much can you pay downon the house, sir?" the realtor asked./ 2. To decrease a debt with periodicalpayments. •/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 ordid not do); be punished or suffer because of. •/When Bob could not get agood job, he realized he had to pay for all the years of fooling around insteadof working in school./ •/Mary was very mean to John because she wanted tomake him pay for all the years in which he had ignored her./ Compare: MAKEUP(3b), PAY OFF.

[pay in advance] See: IN ADVANCE.

[pay lip service to] See: LIP SERVICE.

[payoff]{n.} Culmination point; climax. •/After many months ofpatient labor on your book, the payoff comes when you see the first printedcopy./

[pay off]{v. phr.} 1. To pay the wages of. •/The men were paid offjust before quitting time, the last day before the holiday./ 2. To pay anddischarge from a job. •/When the building was completed he paid off thelaborers./ 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 firstMr. Harrison lost money on his investments, but finally one paid off./ 5.{informal} To prove successful, rewarding, or worthwhile. •/Ben’sfriendship with the old man who lived beside him paid off in pleasant hours andbroadened interests./ •/John studied hard before the examination, and itpaid 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 refusedto help Bob when he needed it most, so Bob decided to pay him back in his owncoin and told him to go and look for help elsewhere./

[pay one’s respect to]{v. phr.} To discharge one’s social obligationsby visiting someone or by calling them on the phone. •/The newly arrivedpeople paid their respects to their various neighbors during their first coupleof 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 muchas you cost someone; be valuable to an employer; to yield a return aboveexpenses. •/The bigger truck paid its way from the start./ •/We had tooffer our new manager a large salary, but he was a capable man, and paid hisway./ Compare: WORTH ONE’S SALT.

[pay out] See: PAY OFF.

[pay the piper] or [pay the fiddler] {v. phr.} To suffer theresults of being foolish; pay or suffer because of your foolish acts or wastingmoney. •/Bob had spent all his money and got into debt, so now he must paythe piper./ •/Fred had a fight, broke a window, and quarreled with hiscounselor so now he must pay the fiddler./ Compare: PACE THE MUSIC(2). (Fromthe proverb "He who dances must pay the piper (or the fiddler).")

[pay through the nose]{v. phr.}, {informal} To pay at a very highrate; pay too much. •/He had wanted experience, but this job seemed likepaying through the nose for it./ •/There was a shortage of cars; if youfound 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 duesup promptly./ •/He gets behind when he is out of work but always pays upwhen 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 eachother (for honor, privilege, or power); status classification; hierarchy.•/After the president was in office several months, his staff developed apecking 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 flightformation; bring one plane down from a group. •/As the group neared the homebase, pilot after pilot peeled off for a landing./

[peeping Tom]{n.} A man or boy who likes sly peeping. •/He waspicked 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 keptpegging away, and finally recognition came./

[pen] See: POISON-PEN, SLIP OF THE PEN.

[penalty box]{n.} A place where penalized hockey players are requiredto go to wait until the penalty is over. •/Two players got into a fight andwere 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.

[penny wise and pound foolish] Wise or careful in small things but notcareful enough in important things. — A proverb. •/Mr. Smith’s fence isrotting and falling down because he wouldn’t spend money to paint it. He ispenny wise and pound foolish./

[pen pal]{n.} A friend who is known to someone through an exchange ofletters. •/John’s pen pal writes him letters about school in Alaska./

[people who live in glass houses should not throw stones] Do not complainabout other people if you are as bad as they are. — A proverb. •/Mary saysthat Betty is jealous, but Mary is more jealous herself. People who live inglass houses should not throw stones./

[pep talk]{n.}, {informal} A speech that makes people feel good sothey will try harder and not give up. •/The football coach gave the team apep talk./ •/Mary was worried about her exams, but felt better after theteacher’s pep talk./

[period of grace] See: GRACE PERIOD.

[perish the thought]{v. phr.} Let us not even think of it; may itnever come true. — Used as an exclamation. •/If John fails the collegeentrance exam — perish the thought — he will go back to high school for onemore year./ •/Perish the thought that Mary should have cancer./ Compare:GOD FORBID.

[perk up]{v.} To get or give back pep, vigor, health, or spirit;become or make more lively; liven up. •/He perked up quickly after hisillness./ •/The rain perked up the flowers wonderfully./