Chapter Perillos and the Brazen Bull to Peter of P by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Peruke or Periwig. Menage ingeniously derives these words from the Latin pilus (“hair”). Thus, pilus, pelus, pelutus, peluticus, pelutica, peru'a, perruque. The wigs are first mentioned in the 16th century; in the next century they became very large. The fashion began to wane in the reign of George III. Periwig is a corrupt form of the French word perruque.

Pescecola The famous swimmer drowned in the pool of Charybdis. The tale says he dived once into the pool, and was quite satisfied with its horrors and wonders; but the King Frederick then tossed in a golden cup, which Pescecola dived for, and was never seen again. (See Schiller's Diver.)

Pessimist One who fancies everything is as bad as possible. (Latin, Pessimus, the worst.)

Petard' Hoist on his own petard. Caught in his own trap, involved in the danger he meant for others. The petard was a conical instrument of war employed at one time for blowing open gates with gunpowder. The engineers used to carry the petard to the place they intended to blow up, and fire it at the small end by a fusee. Shakespeare spells the word petar. “'Tis the sport to have the engineer hoist with his own petar.” (Hamlet, ii. 4.)

“Turning the muzzles of the guns Magdalawards, and getting a piece of lighted rope [the party] blazed away as vigorously as possible ... and tried to hoist Theodore on his own petar.” Daily paper.

Petaud Tis the court of King Petaud, where everyone is master. There is no order or discipline at all. This is a French proverb. Petaud is a corruption of peto (I beg), and King Petaud means king of the beggars, in whose court all are equal. (See Alsatia .)

Peter (See Blue Peter .)
   Great Peter. A bell in York Minster, weighing 10 3/4 tons, and hung in 1845.
   Lord Peter. The Pope in Swift's Tale of a Tub.
   Rob Peter to pay Paul. (See Robbing.)
   St. Peter. Patron saint of fishers and fishmongers, being himself a fisherman.
   St. Peter, in Christian art, is represented as an old man, bald, but with a flowing beard; he is usually dressed in a white mantle and blue tunic, and holds in his hand a book or scroll. His peculiar symbols are the keys, and a sword, the instrument of his martyrdom.
   He has got St. Peter's fingers - i.e. the fingers of a thief. The allusion is to the fish caught by St. Peter with a piece of money in its mouth. They say that a thief has a fish-hook on every finger.