Meaning: acropetal

adj.
of leaves or flowers; developing or opening in succession from base to apex

pet Idiom, Proverb

for Pete's sake

"for the good of ""Pete"" and everybody" For Pete's sake, don't talk when your mouth is full of food!

haul up on the carpet

questioned, disciplined, give me the third degree If you don't obey every rule, you will be hauled up on the carpet.

lose your appetite

not feel hungry anymore, lose the desire to eat If a bug crawled out of your apple would you lose your appetite?

on the carpet

asked to explain a mistake, give me the third degree Tom's on the carpet because he lost company documents.

pet

touch intimately, kiss and caress Petting is a prelude to sex. It is the touch of passion.

peter out

die down gradually, grow less strong The large crowd from the football game has begun to peter out and the streets around the stadium are becoming quiet now.

petrified

very frightened, scared stiff Gigi was petrified when a spider crawled up her leg.

red carpet

(See roll out the red carpet)

rob Peter to pay Paul

take from one person or thing to pay another When the government began to take money from education to pay for the medical system it was like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

roll out the red carpet

greet a person with great respect, give a big welcome When the King of Jordon visited Washington, they rolled out the red carpet and gave him a great welcome.

sweep under the carpet

hide problems, cover mistakes Don't sweep your problems under the carpet. Try to solve them.

the Peter Principle

people are promoted to a job they cannot do The manager is an example of the Peter Principle. He's hopeless!

whet your appetite

improve your appetite, cause you to be hungry Would you like to order a salad to whet your appetite?

a bit of crumpet

a bit of crumpet is slang for a sexually desirable woman

a piece of crumpet

sexually desirable woman

apeth

a pet name for a silly person. A shortening of "daft apeth" The apeth is derived from "half a penny's worth"

carpet muncher

offensive term for a lesbian

crumpet

sexually desirable person:"The club was bursting its walls with crumpet"

compete with

be in competition with；enter intocontest with与…竞争
This firm is too small to compete with the transnational corporation．这家公司太小了，竞争不过跨国公司。
Now China can compete with other countries．现在中国可以和其它国家竞争。

whet one's appetite

Idiom(s): whet one's appetite

Theme: INTEREST

to cause someone to be interested in something and to be eager to have, know, learn, etc., more about it.
• Seeing that film really whetted my sister's appetite for horror films. She now sees as many as possible.
• My appetite for theater was whetted when I was very young.

the teacher's pet

Idiom(s): be the teacher's pet

Theme: ADVANTAGE

to be the teacher's favorite student.
• Sally is the teacher's pet. She always gets special treatment.
• The other students don't like the teacher's pet.

tea and crumpets

Idiom(s): tea and crumpets

Theme: SOCIAL

a fancy or fussy meeting or reception where refreshments, especially sweet and insubstantial refreshments are served. (Fixed order.)
• I don't have time to spend the afternoon having tea and crumpets with the office staff I have work to do!
• Almost every one of my Sunday afternoons is taken up with tea and crumpets for this cause and tea and crumpets for that cause! My rest and relaxation is the only cause I am interested in this Sunday!

sweep sth under the carpet

Idiom(s): sweep something under the carpet AND sweep something under the rug

Theme: DECEPTION

to try to hide something unpleasant, shameful, etc., from the attention of others.
• The boss said he couldn't sweep the theft under the carpet, that he'd have to call in the police.
• Roger had a tendency to sweep all the problems under the rug.

roll out the red carpet for

Idiom(s): roll out the red carpet for sb

Theme: WELCOME

to provide special treatment for someone.
• There's no need to roll out the red carpet for me.
• We rolled out the red carpet for the king and queen.

hoist with one's own petard

Idiom(s): hoist with one's own petard

Theme: HARM

to be harmed or disadvantaged by an action of one's own which was meant to harm someone else; to be revealed as a wrongdoer by being identified with the deed. (From a line in Shakespeare's Hamlet.)
• She intended to murder her brother but was hoist with her own petard when she ate the poisoned food intended for him.
• The vandals were hoist with their own petard when they tried to make an emergency call from the pay phone they had broken.

give sb the red-carpet treatment

Idiom(s): give sb the red-carpet treatment

Theme: PRAISE

to give someone very special treatment; to give someone royal treatment.
• We always give the queen the red-carpet treatment when she comes to visit.
• They never give me the red-carpet treatment.

get the red-carpet treatment

Idiom(s): get the red-carpet treatment

Theme: RESPECT - HONOR

to receive very special treatment; to receive royal treatment. (This refers—sometimes literally—to the rolling out of a clean red carpet for someone to walk on.)
• I love to go to fancy stores where I get the red carpet treatment.
• The queen expects to get the red-carpet treatment wherever she goes.

call sb on the carpet

Idiom(s): call sb on the carpet

Theme: SCOLDING

to reprimand a person. (The phrase presents images of a person called into the boss's carpeted office for a reprimand.)
• One more error like that and the boss will call you on the carpet.
• I’m sorry it went wrong. I really hope he doesn't call me on the carpet again.

honest-to-Pete

Idiom(s): honest-to-goodness AND honest-to- God; honest-to-Pete

Theme: TRUTH

truthful; genuine.
• Is that an honest-to-goodness leather jacket, or is it vinyl?
• It's honest-to-goodness vinyl.

Honest to Pete

Idiom(s): Honest to goodness, AND Honest to God.; Honest to Pete.

Theme: TRUTH

I speak the truth. (Some people may object to the use of God in this phrase.)
• Did he really say that? Honest to goodness?
• Honest to Pete, I’ve been to the moon.
• I've been there, too—honest to God.

Blow your own trumpet

If someone blows their own trumpet, they boast about their talents and achievements. ('Blow your own horn' is an alternative form.)

Brush under the carpet

If you brush something under the carpet, you are making an attempt to ignore it, or hide it from others.

Call on the carpet

If you are called on the carpet, you are summoned for a reprimand by superiors or others in power.

Carpetbagger

A carpetbagger is an opportunist without any scruples or ethics, or a politican who wants to represent a place they have no connection with.

For the love of Pete

Usually used in exasperation, as in 'Oh, for the love of Pete!'

Hoist with your own petard

If you are hoist with your own petard, you get into trouble or caught in a trap that you had set for someone else.

Pet peeve

A pet peeve is something that irritates an individual greatly.

Sweep things under the carpet

If people try to ignore unpleasant things and forget about them, they sweep them under the carpet.

Teacher's pet

The teacher's favorite pupil is the teacher's pet, especially if disliked by the other pupils.

red carpet treatment

treat someone with great respect: "When we visit our offices in Asia, we get the red carpet treatment."

call on the carpet|call|carpet

v. phr., informal To call (a person) before an authority (as a boss or teacher) for a scolding or reprimand. The worker was called on the carpet by the boss for sleeping on the job. The principal called Tom on the carpet and warned him to stop coming to school late.

hoist with one's own petard|hoist|petard

adj. phr. Caught in your own trap or trick. Jack carried office gossip to the boss until he was hoisted by his own petard. (From Shakespeare; literally, blown up with one's own bomb.)

magic carpet|carpet|magic

n. 1. A rug said to be able to transport a person through the air to any place he wishes. The caliph of Baghdad flew on his magic carpet to Arabia. 2. Any form of transportation that is comfortable and easy enough to seem magical. Flying the Concord from Dallas to London seemed like boarding the magic carpet. Mr. Smith's new car drove so smoothly it seemed like a magic carpet.

pet name|name|pet

n. phr. A special or abbreviated name indicating affection. He never calls his wife her real name, "Elizabeth," but only such pet names as "honey," "honey bunch," "sweetheart," and "sugar."

peter out|peter

v., informal To fail or die down gradually; grow less; become exhausted. After the factory closed, the town pretty well petered out. The mine once had a rich vein of silver, but it petered out. But as he thought of her, his anger slowly petered out.
Compare: GIVE OUT.

red-carpet|carpet|red

adj. When the president visited the foreign country, he was given the red-carpet treatment and welcomed by a great crowd. We gave Uncle Willie the red-carpet treatment when he returned from Hong Kong.

rob Peter to pay Paul|Paul|Peter|pay|pay Paul|rob|

v. phr. To change one duty or need for another; take from one person or thing to pay another. Bill owed Sam a dollar, so he borrowed another from Joe to pay Sam back. He robbed Peter to pay Paul. Trying to study a lesson for one class during another class is like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

roll out the red carpet|carpet|red carpet|roll|rol

v. phr. 1. To welcome an important guest by putting a red carpet down for him to walk on. They rolled out the red carpet for the Queen when she arrived in Australia. 2. To greet a person with great respect and honor; give a hearty welcome. Margaret's family rolled out the red carpet for her teacher when she came to dinner.
Compare: WELCOME MAT. -

appetite

appetite
see whet one's appetite

carpet

carpet
see call on the carpet; red carpet. Also see under rug.