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

peg leg • peg legs
peg leg —
1
. a wooden leg: McPhail has created a pirate crew
consisting of animals dressed in pirate gear: eye patches and
peg-legs included. 2. (sl.) a person who wears a wooden leg:
See that peg leg over there? He lost his foot to a shark.
peg legs —(U.S. sl.) pants which are tapered at the ankle:
Heavy thighs? Forget about peg legs and baggy shapeless jeans.
peg someone down • take someone down a peg
peg someone down —
1
. force a person to keep to a decision,
agreement, etc.: One can’t peg him down to one genre of
music because each CD can span several genres. 2. have a fixed
opinion of a person: She had already pegged him down as a
lazy, boozing, drug-taking, and altogether irresponsible man.
take someone down a peg —(also: take someone down a peg or
two) make smb. feel less important; snub or humiliate a per-
son: The most influential paper picked the moment of his
greatest triumph to take him down a peg.
per cent • per cents
per cent—is used with preceding numerals in stating a pro-
portion of smth.: During the 
1
0 years, the entire population
increased at the rate of 
1
3 per cent.
per cents —public securities bearing a specific rate of interest:
The conversion of the four per cents into three and a half per
cents was facilitated.
performance art • performing art
performance art—multimedia art form combining static ele-
ments with music, song, dance, film, and spoken dialogue:
Performance art grew out of avant-garde movements, partic-
ularly in poetry and painting.
performing art—an art (such as the dance, music, drama,
etc.) involving public performance: I am delighted to know
that the Prime Minister is interested in having a center in
Ottawa for the performing arts.