Sens: absolute pitch

Ouïe absolue

PIT Idiome

cut off your nose to spite your face

make your problem worse, hurt yourself because you dislike yourself If you abuse drugs to forget a problem, you are cutting off your nose to spite your face.

in spite of

in opposition to, despite In spite of the terrible weather we went to the beach for a picnic.

little pitchers have big ears

little children often overhear things that they are not supposed to hear Little pitchers have big ears she said when she saw her daughter standing at the door listening to her talking to her husband.

make a pitch

try to sell, try to persuade She handed him her resume and made a pitch for the job.

pit of my stomach

(See the pit of my stomach)

pit stop

a brief stop to buy gas or go to the washroom Excuse me. I have to make a pit stop before we go to the movie.

pitch a tent

put up a tent We pitched the tent in a nice field beside a stream.

pitch in

give help or money for something They pitched in and helped him finish the job quickly.

pits

(See the pits)

scared spitless

very frightened, scared stiff Believe me. I was scared spitless when the wolves started to howl.

spitting image

exact resemblance He is a spitting image of his father.

spitting mad

very angry, pissed off Mom was spitting mad when you ran across her flower garden.

spitting nails

very angry, very mad, hot, pissed Art was spitting nails when my dog scratched the paint on his car.

the pit of my stomach

bottom of my stomach, deep in my belly From the pit of my stomach came a growling sound. I was hungry.

the pits

poor quality, not good value The music was the pits. The violins played badly.

the spitting image

one who looks like someone, a dead ringer Patty is the spitting image of her mother - same face, same hair.

bottomless pit

a person with an insatiable appetite for food

that place is a Arm pit

it stinks, it terrible

capitalize on

take advantage of；profit by 利用；从…中得益
It's important to capitalize on your opponent's mistake to win the game．利用你对手的弱点来赢这场比赛是很重要的。
Corrupt officials in old China used to capitalize on natural calamities．旧中国的贪官污吏往往利用自然灾害大发横财。
He always capitalizes on every opportunity that comes his way．他总是利用一切有利于自己的机会。

in spite of oneself

not withstanding one's own efforts 尽管有所努力；情不自禁；不由自主地
At the sight of his little sister dressed up for the play in the role of an old woman he laughed aloud in spite of himself．看到自己的小妹妹扮演剧中老太大的角色，他情不自禁地哈哈大笑起来。
On hearing the news，the poor old man cried in spite of himself．听到这消息，这位可怜的老人不由自主地哭起来了。
On hearing the joke， they all laughed in spite of themselves．听了这个笑话，他们全都情不自禁地笑了起来。

pitch into

1．work hard at投身于
She pitched into the work and had the house cleaned up by noon．她拼命地干，到中午前后便把房子打扫干净了。
2． attack with blows or words大骂；攻击
The boys had to be separated once they had pitched into each other．男孩子们一旦打架就得把他们分开。
He pitched into the idea of raising taxes．他对增加税收的建议大肆攻击。
3．begin to eat heartily开始大吃
After walking on the hills all day，they could hardly wait to pitch into their dinner．在山上走了一整天后，他们等不及地大吃了起来。
The children pitched into the meal as though they hadn't eaten any thing for days．孩子们开始大吃起来，好象几天没有吃东西似的。

pitch on

select by chance；single out选出；挑出
Whenever there's an unpleasant job to be done the chief pitches on me．每当有讨厌的工作要干，头头就选中我。
I pitched upon the very house that suited me．我选中了使我最满意的房子。
Why did he pitch on the poor little boy as the one who broke the cup？他为什么偏偏要说是这个可怜的小男孩打破杯子呢？

pitch (up) on

spit out

say sth．angrily or sharply愤怒地说；尖刻地说
I'll never forget the way he spat out our names．我永远也不会忘了他喊我们名字时的那种愤怒样子。
He spat the story out with bitter anger．他愤怒地讲述这段故事。

take pity on

pity; feel sorry for同情
Mary took pity on the old woman and asked her to live in her own apartment．玛丽同情那位老人，让她住在自己的公寓里。

walk the hospital

practise as a student to observe the methods of physicians and surgeons到医院实习
You have to walk the hospital for a time as part of your medical course．你必须在医院实习一段时期，作为医学课程的一部分。
Medical students are required to walk the hospital for a period of time before their graduation．医科大学生毕业前必须到医院实习一段时间。

the spit and image of

Idiom(s): be the spit and image of someone AND be the spitting image of someone

Theme: APPEARANCE - LOOKS

to look very much like someone; to resemble someone very closely. (Folksy. The first version has fixed order. The second version is a frequent error.)
• John is the spit and image of his father.
• I'm not the spitting image of anyone.

take pity

Idiom(s): take pity (on sb or sth)

Theme: SORROW

to feel sorry for someone or something.
• We took pity on the hungry people and gave them some warm food.
• She took pity on the little dog and brought it in to get warm.
• Please take pity! Please help us!

spit sth up

Idiom(s): spit (sth) up

Theme: VOMIT

to throw something up; to vomit something.
• I guess that the food didn't agree with the dog, because he spit it up.
• The baby has been spitting up all morning.
• Bob spit up his whole dinner.

pitch sb a curveball

Idiom(s): pitch sb a curve(ball)

Theme: SURPRISE

to surprise someone with an unexpected act or event. (Informal. Referring to a curveball in baseball. It is the route of the ball that is curved, not the ball itself.)
• You really pitched me a curveball when you said I had done a poor job. I did my best.
• You asked Tom a hard question. You certainly pitched him a curve.

pitch in and help

Idiom(s): pitch in (and help)

Theme: HELPFULNESS

to get busy and help (with something).
• Pick up a paintbrush and pitch in and help.
• Why don't some of you pitch in? We need all the help we can get.

pit against

Idiom(s): pit sb or sth against

Theme: CHALLENGE

someone or something to set someone or something in opposition to someone or something.
• The rules of the tournament pit their team against ours.
• John pitted Mary against Sally in the tennis match.
• In an interesting plowing match, Bill pitted himself against a small tractor.

make a pitch for

Idiom(s): make a pitch (for sb or sth)

Theme: PROMOTION

to say something in support of someone or something; to attempt to promote or advance someone or something. (Informal.)
• Bill is making a pitch for his friend's new product again.
• The theatrical agent came in and made a pitch for her client.
• Every time I turn on the television set, someone is making a pitch.

in there pitching

Idiom(s): in there pitching

Theme: TRYING

trying very hard. (Informal.)
• Bob is always in there pitching.
• Just stay in there pitching. You’ll make some progress eventually.

cut off one's nose to spite one's face

Idiom(s): cut off one's nose to spite one's face

Theme: HARM

a phrase meaning that one harms oneself in trying to punish another person. (The phrase is variable in form. Note the examples.)
• Billy loves the zoo, but he refused to go with his mother because he was mad at her. He cut off his nose to spite his face.
• Find a better way to be angry. It is silly to cut your nose off to spite your face.

black as pitch

Idiom(s): (as) black as pitch

Theme: DARKNESS

very black; very dark.
• The night was as black as pitch.
• The rocks seemed black as pitch against the silver sand.

the spitting image of

Queer your pitch

If someone queers your pitch, they interfere in your affairs and spoil things.

Spit blood

If someone is spitting blood, they are absolutely furious.

Spit it out

People say this when someone has something to say but is too embarrassed, shy, etc, to say it.

Spit the dummy

Reference to an infant spitting out their dummy (or pacifier) in order to cry. 'To spit the dummy' is to give up.

Queer the pitch

Destroy or ruin a plan.

Touch pitch and be defiled.

If you keep contact with bad people, you get spoiled.

What a pity!|pity

How unfortunate! What a shame! What a pity that he couldn't join us on our Hawaiian trip.

cut off one's nose to spite one's face|cut|face|no

v. phr. To suffer from an action intended originally to harm another person. In walking out and leaving his employer in the lurch, John really cut off his nose to spite his face, since no business wanted to hire him afterwards.

in spite of|spite

prep. phr. Against the influence or effect of; in opposition to; defying the effect of; despite. In spite of the bad storm John delivered his papers on time. In spite of all their differences, Joan and Ann remain friends.

little pitchers have big ears|big ears|ear|ears|li

Little children often overhear things they are not supposed to hear, or things adults do not expect they would notice.

A proverb. Be especially careful not to swear in front of little children. Little pitchers have big ears.

piss into the wedding cake|cake|piss|spit into the

v. phr., vulgar, avoidable To spoil someone's pleasure or celebration by doing or saying something harsh or unseemly in an otherwise happy gathering; bring up depressing or unhappy subjects at a supposedly happy time. Stuart really spit into the wedding cake when he told Burt in a bragging fashion that Lucy, Burl's bride, used to be his girlfriend.

pit against|pit

v. To match against; oppose to; put in opposition to; place in competition or rivalry with. The game pits two of the best pro football teams in the East against each other. He pitted his endurance against the other man's speed. He was pitted against an opponent just as smart as he was.

pit-a-pat|pat|pit

adv. With a series of quick pats. When John asked Mary to marry him, her heart went pit-a-pat. The little boy ran pit-a-pat down the hall.

More Idioms/Phrases

pip-squeak pipe down pipe dream pipe up piss into the wedding cake piss off pissed off pit against pit-a-pat pitch a curve pitch dark pitch in pitch into pitch out pitch woo plague on both your houses plain Jane

English Vocalbulary

absolute priority rule absolute right absolute term absolute title absolute trust absolute truth absolute value absolute voidness absolute zero absolutely absolutely everything absolutely normal absolutely true absoluteness absolutes absolution absolutions absolutism