Avoir pignon sur rue = To have a house of one’s own.

Jouer à pile ou face = To play pitch and toss, heads or tails.

Il n’a ni croix ni pile = He has not a rap.

[“Sans croix ne pile.”—La Fontaine, Contes, ii. “Whacum had neither cross nor pile.”—Butler, Hudibras, ii. 3. Pile is literally the reverse of a coin.]

C’est un pilier d’estaminet (or, de café) = He is a public-house lounger, a pub-loafer.

Dorer la pilule = To gild the pill.

Casser sa pipe (pop.) = To kick the bucket; To hop the twig; To die.

Piquer la curiosité de quelqu’un = To rouse some one’s curiosity.

Il se pique d’un rien = He takes offence at the slightest thing.

Il s’est piqué d’honneur = He made it a point of honour; He was put upon his mettle.

Piquer des deux = (lit.) To spur a horse with both heels; To gallop off at full speed; (fig.) To run very fast.

Piquer une tête (fam.) = To take a header.

Voilà un discours qui n’est pas piqué des vers = That’s a fine speech if you like [lit. not worm-eaten.]

Se piquer au jeu = (lit.) To continue obstinately to play although losing; (fig.) To go on in an enterprise in spite of all obstacles.

*Qui va à la chasse perd sa place = If you leave your place, you lose it.

“Accordez-vous si votre affaire est bonne,
Si votre cause est mauvaise, plaidez.”
[J. B. Rousseau, Épigrammes, ii. 19] = If you’ve a good case, try and compromise; If you’ve a bad one, take it into court.

Il ne demande que plaie et bosse = He seeks quarrels only to draw profit from them.

Il ne cherche que plaie et bosse = He is always hankering after a black eye.

Une bonne plaisanterie mérite les honneurs du bis = A good tale is none the worse for being told twice.

Reléguer (mettre) au second plan = To put into the background.

Faire la planche = 1. To show others the way; 2. To float on one’s back.

C’est sa planche de salut = It is his last hope, his sheet-anchor.

Le plancher des vaches (fam.) = Dry land; Terra firma.

Débarrasse-moi le plancher (fam.) = Get out of my way.

Vous m’avez planté là = You left me without any warning; You left me in the lurch.

Il nous a servi un plat de son métier (or, de sa façon) = He played us one of his tricks.

On mit les petits plats dans les grands pour le bien recevoir (fam.) = They spared neither trouble nor money to receive him well; They received him with much fuss.

Il a mis les pieds dans le plat (fam.) = He put his foot in it.

Ce mari bat sa femme comme plâtre = That husband beats his wife like a dog.

Essuyer les plâtres = To live in a newly-built house (and therefore damp). (See Essuyer.)

Il connaît Paris comme sa poche = He knows Paris perfectly; He knows all the ins and outs of Paris; His knowledge of Paris is extensive and peculiar.

Un brave à trois poils = The bravest of the brave; A hero of the first water.

[This expression is derived from three-piled velvet. See Molière, Les Précieuses Ridicules, 12.]

Monter à poil = To ride barebacked.

*Un point à temps en épargne cent = A stitch in time saves nine.

[Spanish: Quien no adoba gotera adoba casa entera = Who repairs not his gutter repairs his whole house.]

Cela vient à point = That comes opportunely.

La viande est cuite à point = The meat is done to a turn.

Vous venez à point nommé = You come in the nick of time, at the necessary moment, just when you are wanted.

Mettez les points sur les i = Be precise, clear (in speaking or writing); Cross your t’s and dot your i’s.

Il vous rendrait des points = He is more than a match for you; He could give you points.

Il vous rendra des points = He will give you odds (at a game).

Il y a un point noir à l’horizon = There are breakers ahead.

*Coupons la poire en deux = Let us split the difference.

Elle faisait trop sa poire (pop.) = She needed pressing; She played the prude (or, disdainful).

[“Il était trop homme pour faire sa poire.”]

Nous en causerons entre la poire et le fromage = We will talk it over at dessert.

Garder une poire pour la soif = To lay up something for a rainy day.

On lui a fait un poisson d’avril = They made him an April fool.

Je suis comme un poisson sur la paille = I am like a fish out of water.

C’est le secret de Polichinelle = It is an open secret; Every one knows it.

Il a avalé la pratique de Polichinelle = He is very hoarse.

[La pratique de Polichinelle is the squeaker that a Punch-and-Judy man puts in his mouth during a performance.]

*Force politesse, trop de finesse = Full of courtesy, full of craft.

Il se porte comme le Pont Neuf = He is in splendid health.

C’est vieux comme le Pont Neuf = Queen Anne is dead; It is as old as the hills.

[The Pont Neuf was finished in 1604 during the reign of Henry IV., and is now the oldest bridge in Paris. The statue of Henry IV. in the middle of the bridge was erected originally in 1635, but the present one dates only from 1818.

Another expression is:
Henri Quatre est sur le Pont Neuf = That’s stale news.]

Il a l’air de revenir de Pontoise = He looks down in the mouth; He answers in a silly fashion.

[The origin of this expression is said to be that in 1720 and in 1753 the Parlement was exiled to Pontoise, about twenty miles north of Paris, for its rebellion to the King. Perhaps from the fact that when they returned they were besieged with questions, to which they gave confused answers, the saying arose and was applied to anyone that had a simple, idiotic appearance.]

On a condamné la porte = The door is nailed up, blocked up.

À sa portée (or, à portée de sa main) = Within his reach.

À (la) portée de la voix = Within call.

À (une) portée de fusil = Within gunshot.

C’est elle qui porte la culotte = She is mistress in this house (not her husband); The grey mare is the better horse.

On le porte aux nues = They praise him to the skies.

Ses plaisanteries portent coup = His jokes hit the mark.

C’est un poseur = He is a prig (lit. attitudiniser).

[There are several varieties of prigs, e.g.—
un savantasse = a learned prig.
un collet monté = a stiff-and-starched prig.
un cafard = a Pecksniff.
un fat = a conceited ass.
un freluquet = a whipper-snapper.
See Journal of Education, March 1896.]

*En fait de meubles possession vaut titre = Possession is nine points of the law.

Pas possible! = You don’t say so! “Well, I never!”

Payer les pots cassés = To stand the racket; To pay the damage; To face the music.

Tourner autour du pot = To beat about the bush.

C’est le pot de terre contre le pot de fer = It is a most unequal combat.

Je vais potasser (piocher) un brin (students’ slang) = I’m going to swot (mug up) a bit.

Faire du potin (chambard, boucan) (pop.) = To kick up a row, a shindy.

Manger sur le pouce = To take a snack.

Mettre les pouces = To give in, to knuckle under.

Lire du pouce (or, doigt) = To skip in reading (i.e. to do more work with the thumb than the brain).

*Il n’a pas inventé la poudre = He will never set the Thames on fire.

C’est une poule mouillée = He is a milk-sop.

Mettre un homme en pourpoint = To pull a man’s cloak off; To ruin a man.

Se mettre en pourpoint = To be ready to fight; To roll up one’s sleeves.

Tirer un coup (de pistolet, etc.) à brûle-pourpoint = To fire point-blank.

Un argument à brûle-pourpoint = A convincing argument.

Donner à quelqu’un un pourpoint de pierre = To give any one a stone doublet; To imprison any one.

Je n’y puis rien = I cannot help it; I can do nothing in the matter.

Si faire se peut = If possible.

Je n’en puis plus = I am done up, exhausted.

Je n’en puis mais = I cannot help it; It is no fault of mine. (See Mais.)

Cela se peut = That may be.

Cela ne se peut pas = It cannot possibly be; It cannot be done.

On fait comme on peut = We must do the best we can; We have done the best we could.

Il est toujours on ne peut plus aimable = He is always as nice as can be.

Il prêche dans le désert = (lit.) He preaches to empty benches; (fig.) All his talking will not convince any one.

Chacun prêche pour son saint = Every one has an eye to his own interest.

Nous sommes au premier = We are on the first floor.

Nous sommes en première = We are in a first-class railway carriage.

Le premier venu = (fig.) No matter who (or, whom); The man in the street.

*Les premiers vont devant = First come, first served.

[“Whoso first cometh to the mill, first grint.”—Chaucer.]

Je vais vous montrer comment il faut s’y prendre = I am going to show you how to set about it.

*Ce qui est bon à prendre est bon à garder = What is worth taking is worth keeping; “Findings, keepings.”

Prenez-vous-en à vous-même = You have yourself to thank for it.

À tout prendre = On the whole; Everything considered.

À cela près il est bon enfant = Except for that he is a good fellow.

Il n’y a pas presse = There is no hurry!

*Plus on se presse, moins on arrive = The more haste, the less speed.

Fendre la presse = To make one’s way through the crowd.

Courir la pretentaine = To gad about.

Il prête de l’argent à la petite semaine = He lends money for a short time at a high rate of interest.

Un prêté pour un rendu = A Roland for an Oliver.

Prêter le flanc à ... = To lay oneself open to...

Prêter serment = To take the oath.

Ce drap prête = This stuff gives, stretches.

Elle prime par sa laideur = She takes the cake for ugliness.

Aux frais de la Princesse = At another’s expense (chiefly of the State Government).

Ils étaient aux prises = They had closed; They were at close quarters.

Je les ai mis aux prises = I have set them one against the other.

Je leur ai donné prise sur moi = I gave them a handle on me.

Lâcher prise = To let go one’s hold.

Sans autre forme de procès = Without any more ado.

Je l’ai envoyé promener (or, paître) = I sent him about his business.

Va te promener! (fam.) = Go to Jericho! Get along with you!

[Compare: “Βάλλ᾽ εἰς μακαρίαν” = Go to Glory.—Plato, Hipp. Major, 293A—a euphemism for Βάλλ᾽ εἰς ἅδον.]

*Chose promise, chose due = Promises should be kept.

Promettre et tenir sont deux = It is one thing to promise, another to perform.

Il est venu fort à propos = He came very opportunely.

À propos, viendrez-vous ce soir? = By the way, shall you come this evening?

L’à-propos fait le mérite = Seasonableness gives everything its price.

À propos de bottes = With reference to nothing in particular; With no reference to the subject in hand.

Il le dit à tout propos = He says it on every occasion, at every turn.

Il l’a fait de propos délibéré = He did it of set purpose; He had made up his mind to do it.

Il l’a fait fort mal à propos = He did it very unseasonably, just at the wrong time.

C’est du propre (ironic.) = A fine thing indeed.

Il n’a rien en propre = He has nothing of his own.

Un propre-à-rien = A good-for-naught.

Propre à tout et bon à rien = Jack of all trades and master of none.

Propre comme un sou neuf = As clean as a whistle; As neat as a new pin.

Je ne le ferai pas pour des prunes (fam.) = I shall not do it for nothing.

[Also: Je ne le ferai pas pour le roi de Prusse. This latter saying is said to have originated with Voltaire, who, after having been exceedingly intimate with Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, finally quarrelled with him. Both this King and his father, Frederick William I., were known to be exacting and miserly.]

Je lui ai mis la puce à l’oreille = I made him feel uneasy (by rousing his suspicions, etc.); I sent him away with a flea in his ear.

Cet homme est un puits de science = He is a man of deep learning.