[pop] See: EYES POP OUT.

[pop fly]{n.} A baseball batted high into the air but not very farfrom the plate. •/The batter hit a pop fly to the shortstop./

[pop in]{v. phr.} To suddenly appear without announcement. •/"Justpop into my office any time you’re on campus," Professor Brown said./

[pop one’s cork] See: BLOW A FUSE, FLY OFF THE HANDLE, LOSE ONE’S MARBLES,LOSE ONE’S TEMPER.

[pop the question]{v. phr.}, {slang} To ask someone to marry you.•/After the dance he popped the question./ •/A man is often too bashfulto pop the question./

[popup]{v.} 1. or [bob up] To appear suddenly or unexpectedly;show up; come out. •/Just when the coach thought he had everything undercontrol, a new problem bobbed up./ •/After no one had heard from him foryears, John popped up in town again./ 2. To hit a pop fly in baseball.•/Jim popped the pitch up./

[pork] See: SALT PORK.

[port of call]{n. phr.} 1. Any of the ports that a ship visits afterthe start of a voyage and before the end; a port where passengers or cargo maybe taken on or put off; an in-between port. •/Savannah is a port of call formany Atlantic coasting vessels./ 2. A place you visit regularly or often; astop included on your usual way of going. •/It was an obscure littlerestaurant which I had made something of a port of call./ •/His home hadbecome one of my regular ports of call in Boston./

[port of entry]{n. phr.} 1. A port where things brought into thecountry to sell may pass through customs. •/Other ports of entry have beentaking business from New York./ 2. A port where a citizen of another countrymay legally enter a country; a port having passport and immigration facilities.•/Airports have joined seaports as ports of entry for the visitingforeigner./

[position] See: SCORING POSITION.

[possessed of]{adj. phr.}, {formal} In possession of; having;owning. •/He was possessed of great wealth./ •/He was possessed of greatself-confidence./

[possum] See: PLAY POSSUM.

[post] See: PROM PILLAR TO POST.

[pot] See: GO TO POT.

[potato] See: HOT POTATO.

[potboiler]{n.} A book, play, or film written for the primary purposeof earning money for the author. •/"Reading a cheap potboiler helps me go tosleep," the professor wryly remarked./

[pot call the kettle black]{informal} The person who is criticizingsomeone else is as guilty as the person he accuses; the charge is as true ofthe person who makes it as of the one he makes it against. •/When thecommissioner accused the road builder of bribery, the contractor said the potwas calling the kettle black./ •/Bill said John was cheating at a game butJohn replied that the pot was calling the kettle black./

[potluck] See: TAKE POTLUCK.

[potluck supper] See: COVERED-DISH SUPPER.

[potshot]{n.} A direct shot at an easy, stationary target from behinda protected position or camouflage; criticism. •/Modern journalists like totake potshots at the president of the United States./

[pound] See: PENNY WISE AND POUND FOOLISH.

[pound away at]{v. phr.} 1. To attack; criticize. •/In his campaignspeeches the candidate kept pounding away at the administration’s foreignpolicy./ 2. To work industriously. •/Mike was pounding away at thefoundation of his new house with shovels and pickaxes./

[pound of flesh]{n. phr.}, {literary} The maximum paymentauthorized by law. •/He had hoped that Peter would be lenient regarding theinterest they had agreed on, but Peter demanded his full pound of flesh./

[pound out]{v. phr.} 1. To play a piece of music very loudly on apercussion instrument. •/The boy was pounding out the tune "Mary had a littlelamb" on the marimba./ 2. To flatten something with a hammer. •/Thebodyshop uses special hammers to pound out the indentations in the bodies ofcars./ 3. To produce a piece of writing on a typewriter in haste and withoutmuch care. •/She hurriedly pounded out a letter of recommendation for theforeign graduate student./

[pound the pavement]{v. phr.}, {informal} To walk up and down thestreets; tramp about. •/John pounded the pavement looking for a job./•/Mary and Bill pounded the pavement to find an apartment./

[pour] See: IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS.

[pour cold water on] See: THROW COLD WATER ON.

[pour it on thick] See: LAY IT ON THICK.

[pour money down the drain]{v. phr.} To spend one’s money unwisely; towaste one’s funds. •/"Stop supporting Harry’s drug habit," Ralph said."You’re just pouring money down the drain."./

[pour oil on troubled waters]{v. phr.} To quiet a quarrel; saysomething to lessen anger and bring peace. •/The troops were nearing a bitterquarrel until the leader poured oil on the troubled waters./

[pour out]{v.} 1. To tell everything about; talk all about. •/Marypoured out her troubles to her pal./ 2. To come out in great quantity; streamout. •/The people poured out of the building when they heard the firealarm./

[powder] See: TAKE A POWDER.

[powder room]{n.} The ladies' rest room. •/When they got to therestaurant, Mary went to the powder room to wash up./

[power behind the throne]{n. phr.} The person with the real powerbacking up the more visible partner (usually said about the wives of publicfigures). •/It is rumored that the First Lady it the power behind the thronein the White House./

[practice] See: IN PRACTICE also INTO PRACTICE, MAKE A PRACTICE OF, OUT OFPRACTICE.

[presence of mind]{n. phr.} Effective and quick decision-makingability in times of crisis. •/When Jimmy fell into the river, his father hadthe presence of mind to dive in after him and save him from drowning./

[present] See: AT PRESENT.

[press box]{n.} The place or room high in a sports stadium that is fornewspaper men and radio and television announcers. •/In baseball the officialscorer sits in the press box./

[press conference]{n. phr.} A meeting with news reporters. •/Thereporters questioned the president about foreign affairs at the pressconference./ •/The press conference with the senator was broadcast ontelevision./

[press one’s luck] or [push one’s luck] {v. phr.} To depend toomuch on luck; expect to continue to be lucky. •/When John won his first twobets at the race track, he pressed his luck and increased his bets./ •/Ifyou’re lucky at first, don’t press your luck./

[press the flesh]{v.}, {slang} To shake hands with total strangersby the hundreds, keeping an artificial smile all the way, in order to raiseone’s popularity during political elections. •/Incumbent Governor Maxwell waspressing the flesh all day long at six different hotels./ Compare: BABYKISSER.

[pressure group]{n. phr.} An organization whose goal it is to createchanges by lobbying for the benefit of its own members. •/Certainunscrupulous pressure groups stop at nothing to achieve their selfish aims./

[pretty] See: SITTING PRETTY.

[pretty kettle of fish] See: KETTLE OF FISH.

[pretty penny]{n. phr.} A large amount of money. •/Their new houseis so big and modern that we’re sure it must have cost them a pretty penny./