[prevail upon] or [prevail on] {v.} To bring to an act or belief; cause a change in; persuade. •/He prevailed upon the musician to entertain instead of the absent speaker./ •/He prevailed upon me to believe in his innocence./

[prey on] or [prey upon] {v.} 1. To habitually kill and eat; catch for food. •/Cats prey on mice./ 2. To capture or take in spoils of war or robbery. •/Pirates preyed on American ships in the years just after the Revolutionary War./ 3. To cheat; rob. •/Gangsters preyed on businesses of many kinds while the sale of liquor was prohibited./ 4. To have a tiring and weakening effect on; weaken. •/Ill health had preyed on him for years./ •/Business worries preyed on his mind./

[prey on one’s mind]{v. phr.} To afflict; worry. •/He couldn’t sleep because his many debts were preying on his mind./

[price on one’s head]{n. phr.} Reward offered to anyone who catches a thief or a murderer. •/The hotel manager learned that the quiet man taken from his room by the police was a murderer with a price on his head./

[prick] See: KICK AGAINST THE PRICKS.

[prick up one’s ears]{v. phr.}, {informal} To come to interested attention; begin to listen closely; try to hear. •/The woman pricked up her ears when she heard them talking about her./

[pride] See: SWALLOW ONE’S PRIDE.

[pride must take a pinch] One must endure the minor pains and hardships one encounters while being made pretty. — A proverb. •/"Mother," Sue cried, "stop pulling my hair!" "Just a moment, young lady," the mother answered, while combing her hair. "Don’t you know that pride must take a pinch?"/

[pride oneself on]{v. phr.} To be proud ot, take satisfaction in; be much pleased by. •/She prided herself on her beauty./ •/He prided himself on his strength and toughness./ Compare: PLUME ONESELF.

[print] See: FINE PRINT, IN PRINT, OUT OF PRINT.

[private] See: IN PRIVATE.

[private eye]{n.}, {colloquial} A private investigator; a detective. •/Buddy Ebsen played a private eye on "Bamaby Jones."/

[progress] See: IN PROGRESS.

[promise] See: AS GOOD AS ONE’S WORD, LICK AND A PROMISE.

[promise the moon]{v. phr.} To promise something impossible. •/A politician who promises the moon during a campaign loses the voters' respect./ •/I can’t promise you the moon, but I’ll do the best job I can./ Compare: ASK FOR THE MOON.

[proof of the pudding is in the eating] Only through actual experience can the value of something be tested. — A proverb. •/He was intrigued by the ads about the new high mileage sports cars. "Drive one, sir," the salesman said. "The proof of the pudding is in the eating."/

[prune] See: FULL OF BEANS or FULL OF PRUNES.

[psyched up]{adj.}, {informal} Mentally alert; ready to do something. •/The students were all psyched up for their final exams./

[psych out]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {informal} 1. To find out the real motives of (someone). •/Sue sure has got Joe psyched out./ 2. To go berserk; to lose one’s nerve. •/Joe says he doesn’t ride his motorcycle on the highway anymore because he’s psyched out./ •/Jim psyched out and robbed a liquor store, when he has all he needs and wants!/

[Public] See: JOHN Q. PUBLIC.

[public] See: AIR ONE’S DIRTY LINEN IN PUBLIC or WASH ONE’S DIRTY LINEN IN PUBLIC, IN PUBLIC, IN THE PUBLIC EYE.

[public-address system]{n.} A set of devices for making a speaker’s voice louder so that he can be heard by more people. •/The public-address system broke down during the senator’s speech./ •/The news was announced over the public-address system./

[public enemy]{n. phr.} A famous criminal. •/Al Capone of Chicago used to be Public Enemy Number One during prohibition./

[public speaker]{n.} A person who speaks to the public. •/A public speaker must appeal to all kinds of people./

[puffed up]{adj.} Elated; proud; conceited. •/Just because Bob inherited some money from his father is no reason for him to act so puffed up./

[pull] See: LONG HAUL or LONG PULL.

[pull a fast one]{v. phr.} To gain the advantage over one’s opponent unfairly; deceive; trick. •/When Smith was told by his boss that he might be fired, he called the company president, his father-in-law, and pulled a fast one by having his boss demoted./

[pull a long face] See: LONG FACE.

[pull date]{n.}, {informal} The date stamped on baked goods, dairy products, or other perishable foods indicating the last day on which they may be sold before they must be removed from the shelves in a retail store. •/This pie is way past the pull date — small wonder it’s rotten./

[pull down]{v.}, {informal} 1. To catch (a ball) after a hard run. •/The outfielder pulled down a long drive to center field./ 2. To earn. •/Mr. Blake pulls down $500 a week./ •/John pulled down an A in algebra by studying hard./ Compare: HAUL DOWN.

[pull down about one’s ears] or [pull down around one’s ears] See: ABOUT ONE’S EARS.

[pull in] See: HAUL IN.

[pull in one’s horns] or [draw in one’s horns] {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To reduce your boasts; calm down from a quarrel; back down on a promise. •/He said he could beat any man there single-handed, but he pulled in his horns when Jack came forward./ 2. To cut back from one’s usual way of living; reduce spending or activities; save. •/After the business failed, Father had to pull in his horns./ •/As one advances in years, it is prudent to pull in one’s horns more and more as to physical activity./

[pull off]{v.}, {informal} To succeed in (something thought difficult or impossible); do. •/Ben Hogan pulled off the impossible by winning three golf tournaments in one year./ •/The bandits pulled off a daring bank robbery./ Compare: PUT ACROSS(2).

[pull one’s chestnuts out of the fire] To do someone else a great favor which they don’t really deserve, doing oneself a disfavor in the process. •/Small countries often have to pull the chestnuts out of the fire for their more powerful neighbors./

[pull oneself together]{v. phr.} To become calm after being excited or disturbed; recover self-command; control yourself. •/It had been a disturbing moment, but he was able to pull himself together./

[pull oneself up by the bootstraps] or [pull oneself up by one’s own bootstraps] {adv. phr.} To succeed without help; succeed by your own efforts. •/He had to pull himself up by the bootstraps./

[pull one’s leg]{v. phr.}, {informal} To get someone to accept a ridiculous story as true; fool someone with a humorous account of something; trick. •/For a moment, I actually believed that his wife had royal blood. Then I realized he was pulling my leg./ •/Western cowboys loved to pull a stranger’s leg./ Compare: STRING ALONG. — [leg-pulling] {n.} •/Strangers were often fooled by the cowboys' leg-pulling./

[pull one’s punches]{v. phr.}, {informal} 1. Not to hit as hard as you can. •/Jimmy pulled his punches and let Paul win the boxing match./ 2. To hide unpleasant facts or make them seem good. — Usually used in the negative. •/The mayor spoke bluntly; he didn’t pull any punches./ Contrast: STRAIGHT PROM THE SHOULDER.