A man goes into a pet shop to buy a parrot.
The shop owner points to three identically looking parrots on a perch and says:
"The parrot on the left costs $500."
"Why does the parrot cost so much?", asks the guest.
The owner says,
"Well, the parrot knows how to use a computer."
The man then asks about the next parrot. He is told that this one costs $1000, because it can do everything the other parrot can do, plus it knows how to use the UNIX operating system.
Naturally, the increasingly startled man asks about the third parrot. He is told that it costs $2000. Needless to say this begs the question,
"What can it do?"
To which the owner replies,
"To be honest I have never seen it do a thing, but the other two call him boss!"
—n. - a = *hydrogen peroxide. B (often attrib.) Solution of hydrogen peroxide used esp. To bleach the hair.
- compound of oxygen with another element containing the greatest possible proportion of oxygen. —v. (-ding) bleach (the hair) with peroxide. [from *per-, *oxide]
PERSONAL
adj. - one's own; individual; private.
- done or made in person (my personal attention).
- directed to or concerning an individual (personal letter).
- referring (esp. In a hostile way) to an individual's private life or concerns (personal remarks; no need to be personal).
- of the body and clothing (personal hygiene).
- existing as a person (a personal god).
- gram. Of or denoting one of the three persons (personal pronoun).
- column n. Part of a newspaper devoted to private advertisements and messages.
- computer n. Computer designed for use by a single individual.
- equity plan n. Scheme for tax-free personal investments through financial institutions.
- organizer n. Means of keeping track of personal affairs, esp. A loose-leaf notebook divided into sections.
- pronoun n. Pronoun replacing the subject, object, etc., of a clause etc., e.g. I, we, you, them, us.
- property n. Law all one's property except land and those interests in land that pass to one's heirs.
- stereo n. Small portable cassette player, often with radio or cd player, used with lightweight headphones.
PERSPIRE
v. (-ring) sweat. [latin spiro breathe]
PERSUADE
v. (-ding) 1 (often foll. By of or that) cause (another person or oneself) to believe; convince.
- (often foll. By to + infin.) Induce. persuadable adj. Persuasible adj. [latin persuadeo -suas- induce]
PERVERSE
adj. - deliberately or stubbornly departing from what is reasonable or required.
- intractable. perversely adv. Perversity n. (pl. -ies). [latin: related to *pervert]
PERVIOUS
adj. - permeable.
- (usu. Foll. By to) a affording passage. B accessible (to reason etc.). [latin via road]
PETITION
—n. - supplication, request.
- formal written request, esp. One signed by many people, appealing to an authority.
- law application to a court for a writ etc. —v. - make or address a petition to.
- (often foll. By for, to) appeal earnestly or humbly. [latin peto petit- ask]
PETTIFOG
v. (-gg-) 1 practise legal trickery.
- quibble or wrangle about trivial points. [origin unknown]
PETULANT
adj. Peevishly impatient or irritable. petulance n. Petulantly adv. [latin peto seek]
PHANTASM
n. Illusion, phantom. phantasmal adj. [latin: related to *phantom]
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