[out of this world] <adj. phr.>, <slang> Wonderfully good or satisfying; terrific; super. * /The dress in the store window was out of this world!/ * /Mother was on TV last night. Isn't that out of this world?/

[out of touch] <adj. phr.> Not writing or talking with each other; not getting news anymore. * /Fred had got out of touch with people in his hometown./ * /On his island Robinson Crusoe was out of touch with world news./ Compare: LOSE TOUCH, LOSE TRACK. Contrast: IN TOUCH.

[out of town] <adv. phr.> Having left one's usual residence or place of work on a longer trip. * /"Mr. Smith is out of town until Monday," the secretary said. "May I take a message?"/

[out of tune] <adv.> or <adj. phr.> 1. Out of proper musical pitch; too low or high in sound. * /The band sounded terrible, because the instruments were out of tune./ 2. Not in agreement; in disagreement; not going well together. - Often used with "with". * /What Jack said was out of tune with how he looked; he said he was happy, but he looked unhappy./ Compare: OFF-KEY. Contrast: IN TUNE.

[out of turn] <adv. phr.> 1. Not in regular order; at the wrong time. * /John played out of turn./ * /By taking a day off out of turn, Bob got the schedule mixed up./ 2. Too hastily or wrongly; at the wrong time or place; so as to annoy others. * /Dick loses friends by speaking out of turn./

[out of wedlock] See: BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK.

[out of whack] <adj. phr.>, <slang >1. Needing repair; not working right. * /Ben was glad the lawn mower got out of whack, because he didn't have to mow the lawn./ Syn.: OUT OF ORDER. 2. Not going together well; not in agreement. * /The things Mr. Black does are out of whack with what he says./ * /George's earnings and his spending were out of whack./ Compare: OUT OF LINE.

[out of work] <adv. phr.> Having no income-producing job; unemployed. * /When too many people are out of work, it is a sign that the economy is in a recession./

[out on a limb] <adv. phr.> With your beliefs and opinions openly stated; in a dangerous position that can't be changed. * /The president went out on a limb and supported a foreign aid bill that many people were against./ * /Grandfather went out on a limb before the summer was over and said that the next winter would be long and cold with many snowstorms./

[out on bail] <adv. phr.> Released from prison because a security deposit known as "bail" has been put up by an individual or a bail bond broker. * /The murder suspect was out on a one million dollar bail awaiting trial./

[out on parole] <adv. phr.> Released from prison but still under the supervision of the police. * /Although Henry is out on parole he must watch his step very carefully. If he commits another burglary he may have to go to jail for a very long time./

[out on the town] <adv. phr.> Going from one bar or restaurant to the next in order to celebrate an event. * /They all went out on the town to celebrate his promotion to vice president./

[outside of] <prep.> 1. Not in; outside. * /I would not want to meet a lion outside of a zoo./ Contrast: INSIDE OF. 2. Except for; not including. * /Outside of Johnny, all the boys on the basketball team are over six feet tall./ * /Mrs. Cox had no jewelry outside of her wedding ring./ Syn.: APART FROM.

[out to lunch] <adj.>, <slang>, <informal> 1. Gone for the midday meal. 2. Inattentive; daydreaming; inefficient; stupid. * /Neil Bender is just out to lunch today./

[overall] <adj.> All inclusive; comprehensive. * /What our department needs is an overall revamping of our undergraduate curriculum./

[over a barrel] also [over the barrel] <adv. phr.>, <informal> In the power of your enemies; not able to do anything about what happens to you; in a helpless condition; trapped. * /Bill had Tom over a barrel because Tom owed him money./ * /Ralph has me over a barrel; I need five dollars, and he won't lend it to me unless I let him use my bicycle./ Compare: ON THE ROPES.

[over age] <adj. phr.> Too old; not young enough; above the legal age. * /Grandfather wanted to fight in World War II, but he could not because he was over age./ Contrast: UNDER AGE.

[over and done with] <adj. phr.> Finished; completed; forgotten. * /Norm and Meg's affair has been over and done with for a long time./

[overboard] See: GO OFF THE DEEP END or GO OVERBOARD.

[overhead] <n.> Expenses incurred in the upkeep of one's plant and premises, employees' salaries, etc., which are not due to the cost of individual items or products. * /"Our overhead is killing us!" the used car lot owner complained. "We have to move to a cheaper place."/

[overnight] <adj.> 1. From one evening until the next morning. * /We could drive from Chicago to Detroit in one day, but it would be more comfortable if we stayed overnight in a motel./ 2. Rapidly. * /When Tom won the lottery he became a rich man overnight./

[over one's dead body] <adv. phr.>, <informal> Not having the ability to stop something undesirable from taking place. * /"You will get married at age sixteen over my dead body!" Jane's father cried./

[over one's head] <adv.> or <adj. phr.> 1. Not understandable; beyond your ability to understand; too hard or strange for you to understand. * /Mary laughed just to be polite, but the joke was really over her head./ * /The lesson today was hard; it went over my head./ Compare: BEYOND ONE'S DEPTH. 2. To a more important person in charge; to a higher official. * /When Mary's supervisor said no, Mary went over her head to the person in charge of the whole department./ * /If Johnny can't get what he wants from his big sister, he goes over her head and asks his mother./ 3. See: HANG OVER ONE'S HEAD.

[over spilled milk] See: CRY OVER SPILLED MILK.

[over the coals] See: HAUL OVER THE COALS or RAKE OVER THE COALS.

[over the hill] <adj.>, <informal> Past one's prime; unable to function as one used to; senile. * /Poor Mr. Jones is sure not like he used to be; well, he's over the hill./

[over the hump] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Past the most difficult part; past the crisis; out of danger. * /Mary was failing math, but she is over the hump now./ * /John was very sick after his accident, hut he's over the hump./ * /When Mr. Smith was out of work it looked as if his family would have to go on relief, but they got over the hump./

[over the long haul] See: IN THE LONG RUN. Contrast: OVER THE SHORT HAUL.

[over the short haul] See: IN THE SHORT RUN. Contrast: OVER THE LONG HAUL.

[over the top] <adv. phr.> 1. Out of the trenches and against the enemy. * /The plan was to spend the night in the trenches and go over the top at dawn./ * /Johnny found that he was braver than he thought he would be when his company went over the top./ 2. Over the goal. * /Our goal was to collect a half million dollars for the new school building, but we went over the top./ * /Mary was asked to sell twenty tickets, and she went over the top./

[over the traces] See: KICK OVER THE TRACES.

[over with(1)] <prep.> At the end of; finished with; through with. * /They were over with the meeting by ten o'clock./ * /By Saturday Mary will be over with the measles./

[over with(2)] <adj.>, <informal> At an end; finished. * /John knew his mother would scold him for losing the money, and he wanted to get it over with./ * /After the hard test, Jerry said, "I'm glad that's over with!"/

[own] See: COME INTO ONE'S OWN, DOSE OF ONE'S OWN MEDICINE, HOLD ONE'S OWN, IN A WORLD OF ONE'S OWN, KEEP ONE'S OWN COUNSEL, OF ONE'S OWN ACCORD or OF ONE'S OWN FREE WILL, ON ONE'S OWN ACCOUNT or ON ONE'S OWN HOOK, ON ONE'S OWN TIME, SIGN ONE'S OWN DEATH WARRANT, TAKE THE LAW INTO ONE'S OWN HANDS, UNDER ONE'S OWN STEAM.

[own up] <v.>, <informal> To take the blame; admit your guilt; confess. * /When Mr. Jones asked who broke the window, Johnny owned up./ * /Mary owned up to having borrowed her sister's sweater./ * /When Mother saw that someone had broken the vase, Billy owned up to it./ See: COME CLEAN.

[oyster] See: WORLD IS ONE'S OYSTER.

[p] See: MIND ONE'S P'S AND Q'S.

[pace] See: CHANGE OF PACE, KEEP PACE, PUT THROUGH ONE'S PACES, SNAIL'S PACE.

[pace off] See: STEP OFF(2).

[pace-setter], [pace-setting] See: SET THE PACE.

[pack a punch] or [pack a wallop] <v. phr.>, <slang> 1. To be able to give a powerful blow; have a dangerous fist. * /He packed a mean punch./ 2. To have a violent effect; be powerful. * /It was vodka, and it packed quite a wallop./

[pack off] <v.>, <informal> To send away; dismiss abruptly. * /When an Englishman got in trouble long ago, his family would pack him off to Australia or some other distant land./ * /Jane couldn't really get started on her homework until she had packed the children off to school./

[pack rat] <n.>, <informal> A person who cannot part with old, useless objects; an avid collector of useless things; a junk hoarder. * /"Why are there so many things in this room?" John asked. "It is my brother's room, and he is a pack rat; he is unable to throw stuff away."/

[packed (in) like sardines] <adj. phr.> So tightly crowded that there is hardly room to turn. * /The trains are so full during rush hour that we must go to work packed in like sardines./

[pack of lies] <n. phr.> An unbelievable story; unprovable allegations. * /What Al told us about his new girlfriend was nothing but a pack of lies./

[pack one's bag] <v. phr.> To leave a place out of anger, annoyance, or disagreement. * /"This place is beginning to irritate me," she said to her friend. "I want to pack my bags and get out of here."/

[pack up] <v. phr.> To pack one's suitcase for traveling; prepare a package. * /Without saying a single word, the unhappy husband packed up and left./

[paddle] See: UP THE CREEK or UP THE CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE.

[paddle one's own canoe] <v. phr.>, <informal> To work without help; earn your own living; support yourself. * /After his father died, John had to paddle his own canoe./ Syn.: HOE ONE'S OWN ROW. Compare: MAKE ONE'S WAY.

[paddy wagon] <n.>, <informal> A police van used for transporting prisoners to jail or the police station. * /The police threw the demonstrators into the paddy wagon./

[pad the bill] <v. phr.> To add false expenses to a bill; make a bill larger than it really was. * /The salesman padded the bill for his traveling expenses by exaggerating his food expenses./

[pain] See: AT PAINS, FEEL NO PAIN, GIVE A PAIN, GROWING PAINS, ON PAIN OF, TAKE PAINS.

[pain in the ass] or [pain in the neck] <n.>, <slang>, <vulgar with ass> An obnoxious or bothersome person or event. * /Phoebe Hochrichter is a regular pain in the neck (ass)./

[paint a gloomy picture] <v. phr.> To describe something in a gloomy, pessimistic way. * /We are sad because the weather forecast has painted a gloomy picture for all of next week when we go on vacation./

[paint oneself into a corner] <v. phr.> To get oneself into a bad situation that is difficult or impossible to get out of. * /By promising to both lower taxes and raise the defense budget, the president has painted himself into a corner./

[paint the lily] See: GILD THE LILY.

[paint the town red] or [paint the town] <v. phr.>, <slang> To go out to drink and have a good time; celebrate wildly; carouse. * /It was the sailors' first night ashore; they painted the town red./ Compare: ON THE TOWN(2).

[pair] See: TAKE TO ONE'S HEELS also SHOW A CLEAN PAIR OF HEELS.

[pair off] <v.> 1. To make a pair of; put two together; associate; match. * /Mrs. Smith paired off her guests by age and tastes./ 2. To belong to a pair; become one of a pair. * /Jane paired off with Alice in a tennis doubles match./ 3. To divide or join into pairs. * /Later in the day the picnic crowd paired off for walks and boat rides./

[pair up] <v.> 1. To make a pair of; match. * /When she finished the mending, she paired up the socks./ 2. To form a pair; to be or become one of a pair. * /Not all the socks would pair up./ * /Joe paired up with Charlie to work on the lesson./

[pajamas] See: CAT'S MEOW or CAT'S PAJAMAS.

[pal] See: PEN PAL.

[pale] See: BEYOND THE PALE.

[pale around the gills] See: GREEN AROUND THE GILLS.

[palm] See: CARRY OFF THE PALM, GREASE ONE'S PALM, ITCHING PALM.

[palm off] <v.>, <informal> 1. To sell or give (something) by pretending it is something more valuable; to sell or give by trickery. * /He palmed off his own painting as a Rembrandt./ * /The salesman palmed off pine wood floors as oak./ Syn.: FOB OFF, PASS OFF. 2. To deceive (someone) by a trick or lie. * /He palmed his creditors off with a great show of prosperity./ Syn.: PUT OFF. 3. To introduce someone as a person he isn't; present in a false pretense. * /He palmed the girl off as a real Broadway actress./

[pan] See: FLASH IN THE PAN, OUT OF THE PRYING PAN INTO THE FIRE.

[Pandora's box] <n. phr.>, <literary> A thing or problem that, if activated, will give rise to many unmanageable problems. * /If they insist on having that inquiry, they will open up a Pandora's box./ Compare: CAN OF WORMS.

[pan gravy] <n.> Gravy made with meat drippings with seasoning and often a little water. * /His wife liked cream gravy, but he preferred pan gravy./ * /Pan gravy from country ham is often called red-eye gravy./

[panic] See: PUSH THE PANIC BUTTON.

[pan out] <v.>, <informal> To have a result, especially a good result; result favorably; succeed. * /Suppose the class tried to make money by selling candy. How would that pan out?/ * /Edison's efforts to invent an electric light bulb did not pan out until he used tungsten wires./

[pant for] <v. phr.> To desire something very deeply. * /He is panting for his girlfriend, who went out of town to see her family./

[pants] See: ANTS IN ONE'S PANTS, CATCH ONE WITH ONE'S PANTS DOWN, FANCY PANTS, FLY BY THE SEAT OF ONE'S PANTS, GET THE LEAD OUT OF ONE'S PANTS, KICK IN THE PANTS, WEAR THE TROUSERS or WEAR THE PANTS.

[paper] See: ON PAPER, WALKING PAPERS.

[par] See: UP TO PAR.

[parade] See: HIT PARADE.

[parade rest] <n.> A position in which soldiers stand still, with feet apart and hands behind their backs. * /The marines were at parade rest in front of the officials' platform./ Compare: AT EASE(3).

[parallel bars] <n.> Two horizontal bars the same distance apart, that are a few feet above the floor of a gymnasium. * /The boys exercised on the parallel bars in the gym./

[parcel] See: PART AND PARCEL.

[parcel out] <v.> To give out in parts or shares; divide. * /He parceled out the remaining food to the workers./

[par for the course] <n. phr.>, <informal> Just what was expected; nothing unusual; a typical happening. - Usually refers to things going wrong. * /Mary is very clumsy so it was par for the course when she bumped into the table and broke the vase./ * /When John came late again, Mary said, "That's par for the course."/ Compare: ALL IN A DAY'S WORK, RUNNING TRUE TO FORM.

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