absence or presence

(Tech) vắng mặt hay hiện diện, không hay có

pre Thành ngữ, tục ngữ

a pretty penny

a lot of money, a high price I bet she paid a pretty penny for that coat. It looks expensive.

an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

prevent a problem so you don't have to solve it, a stitch in time... Forest fires deserve an ounce of prevention: public education in campfire safety.

cool under pressure

calm during a crisis, able to perform well when you must do it Jo was very cool under pressure. When the judge asked questions, she answered clearly and calmly.

cooler heads prevailed

sensible people spoke, violence was avoided There was nearly a riot, but cooler heads prevailed.

cost a pretty penny

cost a lot of money, had a high price Elvis bought a new pink Cadillac. I bet that cost a pretty penny.

hard pressed

burdened with urgent business I am a little hard pressed for time. Can we meet later?

hot off the press

paper that has just been printed "As the boy handed me the paper he said, ""Hot off the press!"""

make a good impression

meet and talk to strangers so they like you Penny made a good impression on my parents. She is so polite!

ounce of prevention

(See an ounce of prevention)

practice what you preach

do what you say people should do If you want to hear truth, tell the truth. Practice what you preach.

pre-menstrual syndrome

emotional crises the week before menstruation, pms Judy says pms causes most of her personal problems.

prepare like crazy

prepare thoroughly, be ready for an event or test Before I go to a job interview I prepare like crazy.

preppy

a youth who wears trendy clothes, clean cut Brad is a preppy. He wears Polo sweaters and drives a Celica.

presence of mind

ability to think clearly and act appropriately, cool under pressure When the bear charged the car, Jill had the presence of mind to sound the burglar alarm.

press charges

ask the police to charge someone with a crime The police asked her if she wanted to press charges against the thief.

press into service

required to help, forced to serve The young men were injured, so the old men were pressed into service.

press on

continue traveling, keep on going Dumont wanted to stop at Batoche, but he pressed on to Fort Carlton.

press (push) one

depend too much on luck, expect to continue to be lucky He is pushing his luck if he thinks that he will continue to make a lot of money on the stock market.

press the panic button

become very scared, panic, freak If a dog growls at me, I press the panic button. I scream and run.

pressed for time

have barely enough time He was pressed for time so I didn

pretty (adv.)

" rather; somewhat. "

pretty as a picture

very pretty, beautiful """How do I look in my new dress?"" ""Pretty as a picture, my dear."""

pretty penny

(See cost a pretty penny)

prey on (upon)

catch for food, kill and eat Cats usually prey on mice and small birds if they can catch them.

sitting pretty

be in a favorable situation He is sitting pretty with his new job and lots of money.

spread like wildfire

spread quickly, go public News of the assassination spread like wildfire.

spread oneself too thin

try to do too many things at one time She has been spreading herself too thin lately and is not accomplishing very much of anything.

spread out

lie down with your arms and legs apart When you spread out on the sofa, there's no room for me.

spread the word

tell everybody, get the word out The teacher asked us to spread the word about the school concert.

dead presidents

currency; money

represent

new big hip-hop word; means just what you think it means."Represent!" -- NAS (Represent [1994])

at present

now； during this period of time现在
At present he is a professor of physics．他现在是物理学教授。
I can't think of any fit person just at present．我现在一下想不出什么适合的人。
We don't need any more at present．现在我们不再需要什么了。

by express

by rapid method of conveyance 快件邮寄
She sent a letter by express．她用快件寄了一封信。

expressive of

serving to express 表示的；表现的
His look was expressive of gratitude．他流露出感激之情。
A baby's cry may be expressive of hunger or pain．婴儿的哭啼可能表示饥饿或疼痛。

for the present

temporarily；just now暂时；目前
They are wearied and have to suspend the work for the present．他们累了，得暂时停止工作。
I'm rather busy for the present．我眼下相当忙。
For the present we had better wait and see．目前我们最好还是等等再说。

go to press

be printed or about to be printed付印
The book has gone to press．这书已付印。

in the presence of

before在…面前
He was calm in the presence of danger．他临危不乱。
The girl was shy in the presence of stangers．这个女孩在陌生人面前显得腼腆。
He didn't get discouraged in the presence of failure．他在失败面前没有气馁。

make an impression on

1． have a strong influence on使深受印象
His speech made a strong impression on the audience．他的演说给听众留下了深刻的印象。
2． have an effect on对…有效
Punishment seemed to make no impression on the child．惩罚似乎对这小孩不产生效果。

prefer…to

like…better than较喜欢；宁愿
I prefer tea to coffee．我喜欢喝茶，不喜欢喝咖啡。

prepare for

get ready for准备
The family is preparing for Christmas．全家人正在为圣诞节作准备。
I'm going to prepare lessons for tomorrow．我要准备明天的功课。

press for

urge；keep requesting催促（回答）
The newspaper reporters have been pressing the government for details．新闻记者一直在敦促政府提供细节。

pretend to

profess to have自称
Certainly I can pretend to no special knowledge of electronics．我当然不能说已经掌握了电子学的专门知识。
He pretended to abilities which he didn't actually possess．他自称有这样那样的才能，但实际上并不是那么回事。

prevail upon

persuade说服
After dinner he prevailed upon me to take a walk in the park．晚饭后，他劝我去公园散散步。
We finally prevailed upon her to enter the association．我们终于说服了她加入协会。
He prevailed upon me to believe in his innocence．他劝我相信他是无辜的。

prevent from

stop妨碍
Nothing can prevent us from reaching our aim．什么也挡不住我们实现自己的目标。

previous to

before在…之前
They made full investigations previous to reaching a conclusion．他们在下结论之前做了充分的调查研究。

prey on

1．hunt and kill（animal）for food 捕食
Cats prey on mice．猫捉老鼠。
What does the owl prey on？猫头鹰捉什么东西吃？
2．rob； take advantage of劫掠
The robbers living in the mountains preyed on any traveller who wandered into their land．住在山里的那帮强盗对进入他们地区的任何游人都要抢劫。
It was hard to believe that these little boats were being preyed on by pirates．很难相信海盗对这些小船都要抢劫。
3．trouble or worry sb．使痛苦；折磨
His fears and worries preyed so much on his mind that eventually he committed suicide．恐惧和焦虑经常折磨着他，最后他自杀了。
Ill health has preyed on him for years．疾病折磨了他许多年。

take steps to prevent

Idiom(s): take steps (to prevent sth)

Theme: PREVENTION

to do what is necessary to prevent something.
• I took steps to prevent John from learning what we were talking about.
• I have to keep John from knowing what I've been doing. I can prevent it if I take steps.

set a precedent

Idiom(s): set a precedent

Theme: RULES

to establish a pattern; to set a policy that must be followed in future cases.
• I'll do what you ask this time, but it doesn't set a precedent.
• We've already set a precedent in matters such as these.

prevail on

Idiom(s): prevail (up)on sb

Theme: REQUESTING

to ask or beg someone (for a favor).
• Can I prevail upon you to give me some help?
• Perhaps you could prevail on my brother for a loan.

Pretty is as pretty does

Idiom(s): Pretty is as pretty does

Theme: PERSONALITY

you should do pleasant things if you wish to be considered pleasant.
• Now, Sally. Let's be nice. Pretty is as pretty does.
• My great aunt always used to say "pretty is as pretty does" to my sister.