Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (117 page)

That's a par.

para
adj British See
paro

paracat
n British

a person under the influence of drugs, especially when rendered agitated, anxious and/or suspicious. A blend of para(noid) and
cat
in the sense of an individual. More recently, the term is sometimes shortened to
cat
. It is typically heard in black street-talk and club culture since 2000.

paraffin lamp
n British

a tramp. This rhyming-slang expression was recorded in the Merseyside area in the early 1990s, although it is presumably much older.
Penny stamp
and
Harold Ramp
are synonyms.

parallel parking
n American
sexual intercourse. A popular euphemism since the 1970s among high-school students and
preppies
. (The phrase is displayed on car park notices to remind drivers of parking discipline.)

paralytic, paralysed
adj

(extremely) drunk. A very common expression in Britain (but less so in the USA, where
paralysed
is probably more prevalent) since the first decade of the 20th century.

parental units
n pl American

parents, a rarer form of
units
or
rents

parentectomy
n British

the removal of a patient's (presumably troublesome) parents, in medical slang

park a custard/tiger
vb British

to vomit. The chosen words are intended to suggest consistency or colour. The first version was said by Eric Partridge to be in use in the Royal Navy in the 1930s.

‘People… were actually trying to park a custard after eating something they had only identified after swallowing and didn't want to digest.'
(
Love it or Shove it
, Julie Burchill, 1985)

park and ride
vb British

to have sex. From the phrase indicating public transport arrangements for some greenfield and (sub)urban campuses. The expression was recorded by the Student World website in 2001.

parking
n American

necking
and petting in cars. A teenage euphemism of the 1950s which is still in limited use.

park one's arse/bum/carcass
vb

to seat oneself, position oneself

park one's bus
vb

(of a male) to have sex. An item of student slang in use in London and elsewhere since around 2000.

parky
adj British

cold. A word of obscure origin dating from at least before World War II and still in use. Among middle- and upper-class speakers the term is occasionally altered to parquet (as in ‘parquet flooring').

‘It's a bit parky in here – mind if I close this window?'
(Recorded, teacher, London, 1987)

parlyaree, parliari
n British
the strong Italian influence on the theatre, dance, music and the humbler entertainments of the streets from the late 17th to the late 19th centuries gave rise to an Italianate jargon. This terminology was adopted by English speakers (including vagabonds, street traders and the like), with resulting deformation of the original Italian words. This code, later known as parlyaree or parliari (itself a corruption of the Italian
parlare
, meaning to speak), died out slowly during the 20th century. Certain terms remain in limited use, among them
nanty
,
omi
,
khazi
and
bona
.

parni
n See
pawnee

paro, parro, para, parra
adj British

paranoid, in the popular sense of nervous or suspicious. These short forms were in use among schoolchildren from the end of the 1980s.

Compare
noid

parquet
adj British See
parky

parra, parro
adj British See
paro

parred
adj British

snubbed, humiliated, insulted, treated unfairly. The adjectival form postdates the noun
par
.

She got parred.

party down
vb American

to let oneself go, to enjoy oneself to the full. A later embellishment of the colloquial verb to party, with overtones of dedicated involvement or application.

party-hat
n American

a condom. Synonyms are
hat
,
jim(my)-hat
.

party pooper
n

a spoilsport, ‘wet blanket'. This expression (see
poop
for the probable origin) was introduced to Britain from the United States in the early 1960s. It originally referred to adults interfering in teenagers' activities, but was later generalised to describe any morose or unconvivial person.

pash
¹
n British

1.
a teenage ‘crush', an infatuation; especially a young girl's feelings towards an older girl or teacher. A shortening of ‘passion' still heard in public schools.

Amanda has a pash on Miss.

2.
a girlfriend or lover. In armed-forces usage.

3.
rubbish. An item of student slang in use in London and elsewhere since around 2000.

pash
²
adj British

passionate

feeling pash

passion wagon
n

a car or van used for purposes of dating and/or seduction. The word was probably first used in armed-services slang during World War II, describing buses used to transport female personnel.
Draggin' wagon
and
shaggin' wagon
are later, racier alternatives.

paste (someone), paste one on (someone)
vb British

to hit, beat up, ‘thrash' or defeat someone. This use of the word paste, perhaps inspired by the slapping of paste on walls, posters, etc., or from ‘baste' or ‘lambaste', arose in the 19th century and was popular in colloquial speech until the late 1950s. ‘Paste one on (someone)' was then an alternative version; ‘give someone a (good)
pasting
' survives.

pasting
n

a beating or resounding defeat. From the verb to
paste (someone)
.

patch
n

one's territory, area of jurisdiction. A designation used by street gangs, drug dealers and law enforcers.

patna
n American

a friend. The word, heard since 2000 and typically used by African Americans, is an ‘Afro' pronunciation of ‘partner'. It is generally used in situations where solidarity or affiliation are being emphasised.

patootie
n American

1.
the backside, buttocks. An inoffensive term which may be an invention or a deformation of ‘potato'.

She fell flat on her patootie.
You can bet your sweet patootie I will!

2.
a girlfriend or boyfriend, a sweetheart. In this (now obsolescent) sense the word is almost certainly a jocular alteration of (sweet) potato.

patsy
n

a dupe. The term dates from the early years of the 20th century but its original significance is lost. Robert L. Chapman's
New Dictionary of American Slang
tentatively derives it from
pasqualino
, Italian for a scapegoat or loser.

Patsy Cline
n British

a
line
(of cocaine). The term uses the name of the late US country music star and has been heard since the later 1990s.

Pattie
n British

a
first
(first-class honours degree). A student pun (rhyming slang on Pattie Hearst) on the pattern of
Desmond
, etc. A set of nicknames of this sort was coined in 1987 and 1988.

Paul (Weller)
n British

(a drink of) Stella Artois lager, playing on the name of the former neo-mod musician.
David (Mellor)
,
Nelson (Mandela)
and
Uri (Geller)
are synonyms, all popular with students since the late 1990s.

Pavarotti
n British

a £10 note or sum of ten pounds. A pun on the name of the famous Italian tenor and ‘tenner'. Synonyms are
Ayrton (Senna)
and
Tony Benner
.

pavement pizza
n

a patch of vomit in the street. A drinkers' term from the 1980s which forms part of a set of terms such as
road pizza
,
road apple
, etc. as supposedly humorous euphemisms for distasteful discoveries.

paw
n

a hand

pawnee
n British

a.
a body of water; a lake, pond, the sea

‘Two ducks on the pawnee.'
(Bingo callers' code for the number 22)

b.
water in any form (such as rain, tears, etc.). The word, now very rarely heard but not extinct, is a corruption of the Hindi
pani
, entering English through colonial slang, Romany, or both.

pax
exclamation British

a request for a truce, usually heard in the course of children's games. The word is Latin for peace and was formerly used by public-school masters as well as boys to appeal for calm or silence. Non-public schoolchildren usually employed the word
faynits
.

paydirt
n

profit, reward, success. A mining metaphor originating in the USA.

P.C.P.
n

angel dust
. The initials are from phencycli-dine, an animal tranquilliser that was abused (and manufactured in home laboratories), particularly in the USA in the 1970s, for its disorienting effects.

P.D.A.
n American

a ‘public display of affection'. A
preppie
code term for overt kissing, hugging, etc., usually said in a disapproving tone.

P.D.Q.
adj
,
adv

‘pretty damn quick'. A middle-class adults' expression often used in issuing commands or instructions. The term was recorded in Britain in 1900 and may be earlier.

pea-brain(ed)
n
,
adj

(someone who is) stupid

peace, peace out!
exclamation American
goodbye. A term from the lexicon of
rap
and hip hop aficionados which was adopted by some white speakers, particularly on university campuses in the 1990s.

peach
n British

a foolish person. A less common synonym of
plum
and
pear
, used by schoolchildren since the 1990s.

peach (on someone)
vb

to inform upon someone. This term originated in the 15th century as a shortening of the archaic term
apeach
(related to ‘impeach') and has yet to be adopted into orthodox usage. It was commonly used as late as the 1960s but is now rare, except in the speech of an older generation.

peachy
adj American

wonderful, excellent. The term, now often used ironically, is based on the earlier noun ‘peach', meaning someone or something delectable. ‘Peachy-keen' is an intensive form of the word.

peak
¹
adj

1.
excellent

2.
unfortunate, unfair

Both senses of the word, sometimes spoken accompanied by hands joined to simulate a mountain-top, derive from the notion of the highest level – of excellence or of ‘unacceptableness'. The expression probably arose in US street usage in the early 2000s, becoming fashionable in UK youth slang and ‘
chav
-speak' by the end of that decade.

peak
²
n British

bad luck, unfairness

peak for you

peaky
adj American

producing euphoria. This appreciative term formed from ‘peaking' (i.e. achieving a maximum
high
) refers to the enjoyable effects of drugs.

We managed to get hold of some peaky shit.

peanut-smuggling
n See
smuggling peanuts

Pearl (Harbour)
adj British

cold, chilly. The witticism, referring to the weather, is based on the notion that there ‘is a Nip in the air'.

pearler

1.
n Australian
an excellent, exceptional person or object. From the notion of a pearl as a peerless example.

She's a little pearler. I don't know what I'd do without her.

2.
n
,
adj British
(something) excellent, beautiful. The term was in use in Wales in 2010.

pears
n pl Australian

female breasts. Another example of the tendency for any vaguely rounded fruit to be used to symbolise the breasts, such as the synonymous
apples
,
melons
, etc.