Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (123 page)

porn
adj British

excellent. The term was in use among middle-class teenagers in 2008 and was said to refer to something or someone ‘even better than
fetch
'.

porridge
n British

a term of imprisonment. Leaden, grey, institutional porridge is evoked as an image of the general deprivations of prison life, but is probably in origin a pun on
stir
. This underworld term was given wider currency by its use as the title of a BBC TV comedy series, starring Ronnie Barker.

portion
n British See
give (someone) a portion

portion of yes
n British

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

POS
phrase

the letters stand for ‘parents over shoulder'. The code is used when texting, instant messaging or communicating online to warn readers not to send anything incriminating when adults are in the vicinity.

Posh and Becks
n British

sex
. A rhyming-slang term in use in 2003, derived from the nicknames of celebrity couple singer Victoria (‘Posh Spice') and footballer David Beckham.

posho
n
,
adj British

(a person who is) snobbish and/or from a privileged background. This elaboration of the colloquial ‘posh' was used by students from the mid-1990s.

a posho restaurant
‘King's College is full of poshos.'
(Recorded, London student, March 1996)

posse
n

a.
Jamaican
a criminal gang or secret society. The self-dramatising term, from western movies, was adopted in the 1970s to describe
yardies
. It became known through their overseas activities in Britain and the USA in the 1980s.

b.
a youth gang. The word was adopted in urban Britain by teenagers in the late 1980s.

postal
adj American

uncontrollable, irrational, disoriented. This vogue term among Californian adolescents was popularised by the 1994 US film
Clueless
. It often occurs in the form
go postal
. The term is derived from the image of deranged postal workers who embark on a shooting spree before committing suicide.

By the time I got home Dad was, like, totally postal.

pot
n

1.
cannabis. This 1950s term was considered old-fashioned by drug users by the early 1960s, but was adopted by critics and commentators in the press to refer to hashish and marihuana. This use of the word originated in North America in the early years of the 20th century but its etymology is unknown. Some authorities claim a derivation from an obscure Mexican term for the drug (
potiguaya
or
potaguaya
), others that there is a connection with the use of
tea
as a nickname for marihuana, or that it is a deformation of
pod
, an attested synonym.

‘I do not advocate legislation of pot, merely because I dread the inevitable hassle of commercialism.'
(Letter to
Oz
magazine, June 1969)

2.
a pot belly

He's got a bit of a pot on him.

potatoes
n British

money. In armed-service slang during World War II ‘(big) potatoes' denoted both great wealth and the possessor thereof. The use of the same word since the 1990s may be a separate coinage.

‘Oh where are those potatoes? Tell me about those potatoes because I can't eat, I can't eat.'
(Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, in conversation with her psychic, Madame Vasso, reported in 1996)

potato-head
n

a.
a person with coarse or indistinct features

b.
a stupid person. ‘Mr Potato-head' was a children's toy popular during the 1970s. It consisted of a set of plastic parts to stick into a potato.

pothead
n

an habitual smoker of cannabis (hashish or marihuana). An early 1960s term which was out of fashion by the late 1960s, save in whimsical or ironic usage.

potless
adj

destitute, ‘broke'. This use of the word is probably from the vulgar colloquialism ‘without a pot to piss in', or may simply refer to the pot of money required for a gambling session.

potty-mouth
n American

a user of obscene language, a ‘foulmouth'. This jocular middle-aged colloquialism was adopted by adolescents in the 1990s, including the
rriot grrrl
band Brat-mobile who used it as an album title in 1993. It was still in use in 2005.

pouff
n

an alternative spelling of
poof

pound one's pork/pudding/meat/weenie, etc.
vb

(of a male) to masturbate

pov
n British

a synonym for
chav
, recorded in 2005. It derives from poverty (-stricken).

power-flour
n

cocaine. The nickname was in use in the USA in 2012.

pow pow
exclamation British

according to teenage users the phrase, recorded in 2007, is used ‘similar to
brap brap
'…
representing
oneself well,
bigging it up

pox, the pox
n

venereal disease. Originally referring to syphilis, pox is a variant form of ‘pocks' (as in pock-marks) meaning pustules and itself related to ‘pocket'.

poxy
adj British

very bad, worthless, inferior. Originally signifying diseased, from the use of
pox
to mean syphilis, poxy is now a fairly strong (mainly working-class) term of contempt.

P.R.
n American

a Puerto Rican. The abbreviation is usually heard in a derogatory context.

prairie-fairy
n American

an environmentalist, green activist. A derogatory term which featured in the 1992 Montana State Election debate. Synonyms are
tree-hugger
,
eagle freak
, etc.

pram
n See
out of one's pram

pramface
n British

a disreputable, vulgar or shabby-looking female. A term of abuse for supposed social inferiors (‘they look as if they should be pushing a pram on a council estate') such as
chavs
. The term was posted on the b3ta website in 2004 and was later also used as the title of a TV series.

prang
¹
vb
,
n British
(to) crash. A word, used in the context of motoring, which moved from echoic air-force slang of the 1940s to become a common colloquialism of the 1970s and 1980s.

prang
²
adj British

scared. An item of student slang in use in London and elsewhere since around 2000. Some users say the word is an alteration of ‘paranoid', originating in Black British gang usage. The form
prong
was recorded in West London schools in 2006.

prang out
vb British

to be scared, ‘high and paranoid'. In use among South London schoolchildren in 2010.

prank
n British

a foolish and/or unpleasant person. The term, used by schoolchildren and students since 2000, is a blend of
prick
,
prat
or
prannet
and
wank(er)
.

He's a complete prank, that one.

prannet
n British

a fool. A term which enjoyed a vogue in the late 1970s. Prannet looks like a blend of
prat
and
gannet
, both widespread terms of mild abuse. However, it is probably a form of a much earlier word (also seen in the form
pranny
) denoting the buttocks and the female pudenda.

pranny, prannie
n British

a fool. Variant (and possibly earlier) forms of
prannet
.

prat, pratt
n British

1a.
the backside, buttocks. A word dating from the 16th century or earlier which is currently an inoffensive, if rare synonym for
bum
, etc. (encountered in the compound ‘pratfall').

1b.
the vagina. This sense of the term is an extension of the preceding, it has been rare since the 1960s.

2.
a fool, idiot, buffoon. A sharp, but not obscene term of criticism or abuse, in vogue in the 1980s. The word denotes extreme foolishness and is derived, in the same way as the synonymous
arse
or
twat
, from the previous senses of the term.

‘Anyone who bought a futon from the Nagasaki Futon Company should return this to the shop immediately as a serious design fault could result in the owner looking like a stupid prat.'
(
Great Bus Journeys of the World
, Alexei Sayle, 1988)

prat about
vb British

to behave stupidly or irresponsibly, to do things in a disorganised, messy way. From the noun
prat
.

prawn
n See
come the raw prawn

pray to the porcelain god
vb
to vomit in a toilet

preesh
vb American

to appreciate (something). The abbreviation was in use on campus in 2010.

I totally preesh
we really preesh your help

preggers
adj

pregnant. Originally an upper- or middle-class expression using the Oxbridge and public-school termination
-ers
.

preppie, preppy
n American

a.
a student or ex-student of an American preparatory school. The term was popularised by Erich Segal in his best-selling novel
Love Story
. American prep schools (as opposed to the British version which educates boys aged from 8 to 13) prepare teenage boys for higher education.

b.
a young person embodying the values, manners and dress of upper-class America. The preppy is roughly the equivalent of the British
Sloane Ranger
.

‘He is variously described as “Ivy League” or “preppy” and he is instantly recognizable by his blue button-down Oxford cloth shirt, navy blazer, club tie and penny loafers. He might be viewed as an American Hooray Henry, except that he is quietly-spoken, excessively polite and never throws muffins.'
(
Independent
, 12 March 1988)

presh
n
,
adj British

a vogue term of endearment based on ‘precious' and used both straightforwardly and ironically in London
parlyaree
since the 1960s. ‘Presh-bag' is an elaborated form often used teasingly to a loved one or acquaintance.

press
vb

to have sex (with), penetrate. A term used by young street-gang members in London since around 2000.

previous
¹
adj British

premature, impetuous, presumptuous. A term of mild disapproval favoured by London working-class speakers and members of the police force, usually in the phrase ‘a bit previous'.

previous
²
n British

a criminal record, previous convictions. A shortening adopted by police officers and the underworld, usually in the phrase ‘has he/she got any previous?'.

prick
n

1.
the penis. The Oxford English Dictionary records the first use of the term in 1592; it was probably extant in the spoken language for some time before. Prick was probably coined with the image of a thorn in mind, from the shape and the image of penetration evoked. In the 20th century while it is, in ‘polite company', the least acceptable of the many terms (
cock
,
tool
, etc.) for the male member, it is nevertheless commonly used, together with
dick
, by women in preference to those alternatives.

2.
a fool, obnoxious or contemptible male

‘He's something like a financial management consultant, in other words a complete prick.'
(Recorded, homeless male, London 2002)

prick-tease, prick-teaser
n

a potential sex partner who excites sexual arousal without allowing consummation. This phenomenon, usually in the context of male-female encounters, is paralleled by the French
chauffe-cul
and the synonymous
cock-tease, cock-teaser
in English.

primo
adj

first class. (From the Spanish for first.)
El primo
is an alternative version.