A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

Primate of All England • Primate of England
Primate of All England —the Archbishop of Canterbury: In
England both the archbishops are primates, the archbishop of
Canterbury being entitled “primate of all England.”
Primate of England —the Archbishop of York: The parish
clerk was duly authorized by the Primate of England to mon-
otone the Psalms at Matins and Evensong.
Privacy Act, the • Privacy Protection Act, the
Privacy Act, the —(U.S.) the 
1
974 statute that forbids gov-
ernment to disclose information about individuals and gives
individuals the right to see, make copies of, and correct inac-
curacies in their files: Under a 
1
984 amendment to the Privacy
Act, agencies may not rely on exemptions in the Privacy Act
to withhold information that would otherwise be available.
Privacy Protection Act, the —(U.S.) the 
1
980 statute that
makes it unlawful to search for or seize any material intended
for dissemination to the public: The actions of your office
stand in disregard of the Privacy Protection Act of 
1
980, and
your remarks ignore a bedrock principle of our democratic
society — the role of a free and independent press.
private eye • public eye
private eye —(coll.) a private detective working for a fee: The
cops don’t like private eyes much. Cf.: private eyeful —(coll.) a
pretty girl or woman employed by a detective agency: Both in
quality and quantity … this San Francisco private eyeful
exceeded her sister sleuths.
– 271 –
private eye

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public eye —
1
. public attention or notice: It was a gramo-
phone recording that first brought her before the public eye.
2. public opinion or judgment: He resumed his place in the
public eye as the thundering Jove of the Opposition.