phantom corn
The mere ghost of corn; corn that has as little body as a spectre.
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Where will you be? Anywhere UK & IrelandUnited StatesOnline slangBusiness jargon
phantom fellow
One who is under the ban of some hobgoblin; a half-witted person.
phantom flesh
Flesh that hangs loose and flabby; formerly supposed to be bewitched.
pharaoh's corn
The grains of wheat some- times found in mummy cases. See MUMMY- WHEAT.
pharaoh's serpent
A chemical toy consisting of sulpho-cyanide of mercury, which fuses into a serpentine shape when lighted; so called in allusion to the magic serpents of Exod. vii, 9-12.
phat
Excellent; cool; very good.
phats
phat pants
phatties
phat pants
Phcenix Park
A corruption of the Gaelic Fionn-wsge, the clear water, so' 'called from a spring at one time resorted to as a chalybeate spa.
philadelphia lawyer
A lawyer of outstanding ability, with a keen scent for the weaknesses in an adversary's case and a thorough know- ledge of the intricacies of the law. "You will have to get a Philadelphia lawyer to solve that" is a familiar American phrase.
philadelphia-lawyer
A Transatlantic limb of the law considered to be the very acme of acuteness. Sailors relate many stories of his artful abilities, none, however, short enough to find a place here. The phrase, "Enough to puzzle a PHILADELPHIA-LAWYER," means, enough to puzzle the sharpest man in the world.
philander
To ramble on incoherently; to write discursively and weakly.
philip
A policeman. The word is loudly given as a signal that the police are approaching.
philip sober
When a woman who asked Philip of Macedon to do her justice was snubbed by the petulant monarch, she ex- claimed, "Philip, I shall appeal against this judgment." " Appeal!'* thundered the enraged king, "and to whom will you appeal?" "To Philip sober," was her reply.
philiper
A thief’s accomplice, one who stands by and looks out for the police while the others commit a robbery, and who calls out "Philip!" when any one approaches.
Philippe Drouet
The ballad tells how young Dunois followed his lord tp Syria, and prayed the Virgin "that he might prove the bravest
philistine
A policeman. The German students call all townspeople not of their body "Philister," as ours say "cads." The departing student says, mournfully, in one of the Burschenlieder—
philistines
Bailiffs, or officers of justice; also drunkards.
phillip’s
New World of Words, folio. 1696.
Philosopher's Egg
A mediaeval preservative against poison and a cure for the plague. The shell of a new egg was pricked, the white blown out, and the place filled with saffron or a yolk of an egg mixed with saffron.
Philosophers of the Cynic sect
Antisthenes, Diogenes of Sinope, Monimos, Onesicntos, Crates, Metrocles, Hipparchia, Memppos, and Menedemos of Lampsacos.
Philosophers of the Cyrenaic sect
Aristippos, Hegesias, Anniceris, Theodores, and Bion. Philosophers of the Eleac and Eretriac sects.
Philosophers of the Eleatic sect
Xenophanes, Parmenides, Melissos, Zeno of Tarsos, Leucip- pos, Democritos, Protagoras, and Anaxarchos.
Philosophers of the Ionic sect
Anaximander, Anaximenes, Anaxagoras, and Archelaos.
Philosophers of the Italic sect
Pythagoras, Empedocles, Epicharmos, Archytas, Alcmaeon, Hippasos, Philolaos, and Eudoxos.
Philosophers' Stpne
The hypothetical sub- stance which, according to the mediaeval al- chemists, would convert all baser metals into gold. Its discovery was the prime object of all the alchemists; and to the wide and unremit- ting search that went on for it we are indebted for the birth of the science of Cttemistry, as well as for many inventions.
Phineas and Ferb
A fixed-order word pair (irreversible binomial); full definition pending editorial review.
phizog
The face.
phoenix-men
Firemen belonging to an insurance office, which gave a badge charged with a phoenix: these men were called likewise firedrakes.
phone call
A conversation over the phone
phone in
to do something with minimal effort
phone number
Common English phrase; full definition pending editorial review.
phone tag
to repeatedly miss each other's phone calls
phos bottle
A. bottle of phosphorus: used by housebreakers to light their lanthorns. Ding the phos; throw away the bottle of phosphorus.
phrase of paper
Half a quarter of a sheet. See VESSEL, PHYSOG.
phrygian mode
In music, the second of the "authentic" ecclesiastical modes. It had its "final" on E and its "dominant" on C, and was derived from the ancient Greek mode of this name, which was warlike. It was used for hymns and anthems.
phttnix dactylifera
The date-palm; so called because of the ancient idea that this tree, if burnt down or if it falls through old age, will rejuvenate itself and spring up fairer than ever.
Phyllis and Aristotle
an unlikely or mismatched pair
physical break
A pause from physical activity
physician, heal thyself
Fix your own problems before helping others
physog
The face. A vulgar abbreviation of physiognomy.
physog
Or PHIZ, the face. Swift uses the latter word. Corruption of PHYSIOGNOMY.
phyz
The face. Rum phyz; an odd face or countenance.
pi jaw
A contemptuous term for pious talk, or for an ostentatiously pious or goody-goody person.
Piazza of St
Peter's. Although weighing some 320 tons, it was moved bodily on rollers by Pope Sixtus V, in 1586 — an astonishing en- gineering feat, considering the appliances then available. The task was so tricky that spec- tators were forbidden to utter a sound on pain of death.
picaroon
A pirate; also a sharper.
picaroon
A pirate or buccaneer originally; now an ordinary thief.
piccadilly butchers
A satirical name applied by the crowd to the regiment of Horse Guards, known as the "Royal Blues," from their savage onslaught upon the crowd on the occasion of the arrest of Sir Francis Burdett at his house in Piccadilly, by order of the Speaker of the House of Commons. See CHEESEMONGERS.
piccadilly weepers
Long carefully combed-out whiskers of the Dundreary fashion.
Piccadilly Weepers
See WEEPERS. Piccaninny, or Piccanin (West Indian Negro, from Sp. pequeno, small). A little Negro child of the West Indies and southern U.S.A.; also, in South Africa, applied to small Kafir children, and sometimes to native children in Australia.
pick
An anchor.
pick
"to PICK oneself up," to recover after a beating or illness, sometimes varied to "PICK up one’s crumbs;" "to PICK a man up," "to do," or cheat him.
pick a fight
To deliberately start a quarrel or argument
pick and axe
A fixed-order word pair (irreversible binomial); full definition pending editorial review.
pick and choose
Select only the most desirable options
pick apart
To criticize or analyze something in great detail
pick at
to criticize or find fault with something in a petty way
pick corners
To find and emphasize minor flaws or faults
pick of the litter
The best person or thing in a group
pick on someone your own size
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
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