[part with]{v.} 1. To separate from; leave. •/He parted with us at the end of the trip./ Compare: PART COMPANY. 2. To let go. •/They were sorry to part with the old house./ •/He had to part with his secretary when she got married./ Compare: GIVE UP.

[party] See: HEN PARTY, LIFE OF THE PARTY, NECK-TIE PARTY, THROW A PARTY.

[party line]{n. phr.} Ideas, policies, and goals set forth by the leadership of a group or organization. •/Dan seldom has an original idea but he keeps faithfully repeating his company’s party line./

[party to]{adj. phr.} Concerned with; participating in. •/The prosecution has been trying to show that the defendant was party to a fraud./

[pass] See: BRING TO PASS, COME TO PASS, FORWARD PASS, JUMP PASS, SCREEN PASS.

[pass around]{v. phr.} To circulate from one to another; distribute something among a group of people. •/Why doesn’t he pass around the appetizers to the guests?/

[pass away]{v.} 1. To slip by; go by; pass. •/We had so much fun that the weekend passed away before we realized it./ •/Forty years had passed away since they had met./ 2. To cease to exist; end; disappear; vanish •/When automobiles became popular, the use of the horse and buggy passed away./ 3. To have your life stop; die. •/He passed away at eighty./ Syn.: PASS ON(3), PASS OUT(3).

[pass by] See: PASS OVER.

[pass by the board] See: GO BY THE BOARD.

[passed ball]{n.} A pitched baseball missed by the catcher when he should have been able to catch it. •/The batter singled and went to second on a passed ball./

[pass for]{v. phr.} To be taken for; be considered as. •/Charles speaks Arabic so fluently that he could easily pass for an Arab./

[passing] See: IN PASSING.

[pass muster]{v. phr.}, {informal} To pass a test or check-up; be good enough. •/After a practice period, Sam found that he was able to pass muster as a lathe operator./ •/His work was done carefully, so it always passed muster./ Compare: MEASURE UP.

[pass off]{v.} 1. To sell or give (something) by false claims; offer (something fake) as genuine. •/The dishonest builder passed off a poorly built house by pretending it was well constructed./ Syn.: FOB OFF, PALM OFF(2). To claim to be someone you are not; pretend to be someone else. •/He passed himself off as a doctor until someone checked his record./ 3. To go away gradually; disappear. •/Mrs. White’s morning headache had passed off by that night./ 4. To reach an end; run its course from beginning to end. •/The party passed off well./ Syn.: GO OFF.

[pass on]{v.} 1. To give an opinion about; judge; settle. •/The college passed on his application and found him acceptable./ •/The committee recommended three people for the job and the president passed on them./ 2. To give away (something that has been outgrown.) •/As he grew up, he passed on his clothes to his younger brother./ Compare: HAND DOWN. 3. To die. •/Mary was very sorry to hear that her first grade teacher had passed on./ Syn.: PASS AWAY(3), PASS OUT(3).

[pass out]{v.}, {informal} 1. To lose consciousness; faint. •/She went back to work while she was still sick, and finally she just passed out./ Compare: GIVE OUT(3). 2. or {slang} [pass out cold] To drop into a drunken stupor; become unconscious from drink. •/After three drinks, the man passed out./ 3. To die. •/Life came and went weakly in him for hours after surgery; then he passed out./ Syn.: PASS AWAY(3), PASS ON(3).

[pass over] or [pass by] {v.} To give no attention to; not notice; ignore, •/I can pass over the disorderliness of the troops, but their disobedience is serious./ •/In choosing men to be given a salary raise, the foreman passed Mr. Hart by./ •/She was unattractive, the kind of a girl that everybody would pass by./

[pass the buck]{v. phr.}, {informal} To make another person decide something or accept a responsibility or give orders instead of doing it yourself; shift or escape responsibility or blame; put the duty or blame on someone else. •/Mrs. Brown complained to the man who sold her the bad meat, but he only passed the buck and told her to see the manager./ •/If you break a window, do not pass the buck; admit that you did it./ Compare: LET GEORGE DO IT. — [buck-passer] {n. phr.} A person who passes the buck. •/Mr. Jones was a buck-passer even at home, and tried to make his wife make all the decisions./ — [buck-passing] {n.} or {adj.} •/Buck-passing clerks in stores make customers angry./

[pass the hat]{v. phr.} To solicit money; take up collections for a cause. •/The businessmen’s club frequently passes the hat for contributions toward scholarships./

[pass the time of day]{v. phr.} To exchange greetings; stop for a chat. •/They met at the corner and paused to pass the time of day./

[pass through one’s mind] See: CROSS ONE’S MIND.

[pass up]{v.} To let (something) go by; refuse. •/Mary passed up the dessert because she was on a diet./ •/John was offered a good job in California, but he passed it up because he didn’t want to move./ Compare: TURN DOWN.

[pass upon]{v. phr.} To express an opinion about; judge. •/George said he wanted his wife to pass up the new house before he decided to buy it./

[pass with flying colors] See: WITH FLYING COLORS.

[past master]{n. phr.} An expert. •/Alan wins so often because he is a past master at chess./

[past one’s peak]{adj. phr.} No longer as strong, efficient, or able as one once was, usually because of advanced age and decreased ability. •/He used to be a terrific athlete but we’re afraid he is past his peak./

[pat] See: PIT-A-PAT, STAND PAT.

[pat-a-cake]{n.} A clapping game that keeps time to a nursery rhyme. •/Mother played pat-a-cake with the baby./

[patch up]{v.} 1. To mend a hole or break; repair; fix. •/He patched up a couple of old tires./ •/The lovers patched up their quarrel./ 2. To put together in a hurried or shaky way. •/They patched up a hasty peace./

[pat on the back(1)]{v. phr.} 1. To clap lightly on the back in support, encouragement, or praise. •/The coach patted the player on the back and said a few encouraging words./ 2. To make your support or encouragement for (someone) felt; praise. •/After he won the game, everyone patted him on the back for days./

[pat on the back(2)]{n. phr.} 1. An encouraging tap of the hand on someone’s back; a show of sympathy or support. •/I gave her a pat on the back and told her she had done fine work./ 2. A word or gesture of praise or other encouragement; applause. •/Pats on the back weren’t enough; he wanted hard cash./

[patrol] See: SHORE PATROL.

[Paul] See: ROB PETER TO PAY PAUL.

[pause] See: GIVE PAUSE.

[pavement] See: POUND THE PAVEMENT.

[pave the way]{v. phr.} To make preparation; make easy. •/Aviation paved the way for space travel./ •/A good education paves the way to success./

[pay] See: DEVIL TO PAY.

[pay a call]{v. phr.} To visit someone. •/"Come and pay us a call some time, when you’re in town," Sue said to Henry./

[pay as one goes]{v. phr.} To pay cash; to pay at once; to avoid charging anything bought; to avoid debt entirely by paying cash. — Usually used with "you". •/It is best to pay as you go; then you will not have to worry about paying debts later./