Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (124 page)

privates
n pl

the genitals, ‘private parts'. A euphemistic or humorous term.

pro
¹
n

a prostitute

pro
²
adj British

good. An allpurpose term of approval, used by teenagers and young adults at Redbridge College, Essex, in 2010.

probs
adv

probably. The shortened form was in use among US college students and teenagers in the UK in 2011.

“Is he going to fail that test then?” “Probs.”

proctoheliosis
n British

arrogance, overweening self-assurance. From the Greek
helio
, sun, and
procto-
meaning rectal, a condition in which somebody thinks that the sun shines out of their
arse
. Also known as
helioproctosis
.

Prod
n British

a Protestant.
Prot
is an Australian alternative version.

profiling
n American

behaving ostentatiously, ‘posing'. A term from the post-1990s black lexicon, often denoting ritual showing-off within a group.
Compare
styling
;
vogu(e)ing

prole
n British

a proletarian, member of the ‘lower' classes. A contemptuous term employed by overt snobs or, ironically or self-deprecatingly, by the ‘proles' themselves.

prong
n

the penis

proper job
n
,
exclamation British

an allpurpose term of approbation often used as an exclamation, particularly in the speech of the West Country

props
n American

respect. An item of black street-talk (a shortening of ‘pay/show proper respect') which was included in so-called
Ebonics
, recognised as a legitimate language variety by school officials in Oakland, California, in late 1996.

Prot
See
Prod

prune
n British

a foolish person. A mild term of childish abuse, employing one of the less appetizing elements on the typical family and/or school-dinner menus of the 1950s and 1960s.

pseud
n British

a pseudo-intellectual, pretentious or ‘bogus' individual. A buzzword of 1962 and 1963, largely because of its frequent use in
Private Eye
magazine.
Pseud's Corner
in
Private Eye
is a long-running column, reprinting instances of pretentiousness.

psych (someone) out
vb

to unnerve, outmanoeuvre or overwhelm. An Americanism which has spread to other areas, psych out originally meant to use psychology to gauge an opponent's weakness.

psych (oneself) up
vb

to work oneself into a state of mental alertness, aggression, intensity. The phrase originated in the USA (probably in the context of self-expression or therapy groups) in the early 1970s.

‘In fact his [the footballer Vinny Jones] disturbing habit of psyching himself up before a game by screaming, kicking doors and head-butting dressing-room walls is causing team-mates increasing concern.'
(
News of the World
, 12 February 1989)

P.T.
n British

a
prick-tease
. A pun on the school subject ‘physical-training'.

puckered-up
n

a sycophant,
suck-up
. The term is used in office slang in the USA.

pud
n American

1.
the penis. The word is a clipped form of ‘pudding' which has denoted both the male member and semen in earlier slang usage.

2.
a worthless, contemptible or obnoxious person. This term of adolescent abuse may be a shortened version of
pudw(h)apper
.

pudding club
n See
in the club

puddled
adj British

drunk. The term was recorded in 2003.

pud-w(h)apper
n American

an obnoxious or contemptible person. One of many synonyms in use among young adolescents employing the notion of male masturbation. Here it combines
whap
,
meaning beat or thrash, with
pud
, meaning the penis.

‘That little pud-whapper just trod on my foot.'
(
Heathers
, US film, 1986)

puff
¹
n

1.
an alternative spelling of
poof

2.
British
life. In humorous working-class speech the notion of ‘breath of life' has given rise to this usage. It is probably most prevalent in northern English conversation.

‘Never in all my born puff.'
(
Coronation Street
, British TV series, 1989)

3.
marihuana, cannabis

puff
²
vb British

to smoke cannabis. A usage appearing in the 1990s.

puff-bucket
n American

a braggart or ‘wind-bag'. A mild term of abuse denoting a loquacious or pompous individual.

puffy
n British

cannabis. This innocent-sounding nursery term, playing upon puffs of smoke, is used typically as a code word by users and dealers.

‘There's no news on the puffy front – my friend's friend is still out in Morocco.'
(Recorded, drug dealer, London, 1987)

puggy
n Scottish

a.
a monkey

b.
an unnamed object, animal or person. This old nickname is thought to derive from ‘pog', a dialect term for hobgoblin or puck-figure.

puke
vb

to vomit. An echoic expression pre-dating Shakespeare's reference to ‘an infant mewling and puking'.

pukka
adj British

a.
authentic, first-rate. A word adopted from the Hindi
pakka
(meaning substantial) for use in the Anglo-Indian speech of the colonial era.

b.
excellent, admirable. The earlier term was adopted as an adolescent vogue word from the 1990s, often used by those who were ignorant of its provenance and longevity. It was popularised by the TV chef Jamie Oliver.

Well pukka shoes.
A pukka geezer.

puky, pukey
adj

disgusting, sickening, awful. An adolescent usage based on the ancient verb to
puke
.

pull
vb British

1.
to ‘pick up' a member of the opposite sex. A common term applied to males searching for sexual partners since the late 1960s, when it was usually part of a phrase such as ‘pull a bird' or ‘pull a chick'. In current working-class usage predatory males are said to be
on the pull
. (Pull is now part of the homosexual as well as heterosexual lexicon and women also use the expression.).

2.
to arrest or take into custody. A police jargon usage.

pull a stroke
vb British

to succeed in a clever manoeuvre, effect a trick or deception. ‘Stroke' is a common colloquialism for move, ploy or action.

pull a whitey
vb British

to experience confusion, nausea, etc., especially after combining cannabis and alcohol. The term has been in use among adolescents since around 2000.

pull finger
vb New Zealand

to get a move on, stop dawdling, increase efficiency. A brusque shortening of the colloquial ‘pull one's finger out'.

OK, it's time to pull finger and get moving.

pulling power
n British

sexual attraction, the ability to attract and/or ‘pick up' members of the opposite sex. The term, from the verb to
pull
, is usually applied to males.

pull the plug
vb

to commit suicide. An unsentimental euphemism, from the colloquial sense of the phrase meaning to abort (a venture).

‘Cathy was eleven when she pulled the plug, on 26 reds and a bottle of wine.'
(Lyrics to
People who died
, Jim Carroll, 1981)

pump
¹
vb

1.
British
to
fart
. A children's term adopted by adults and now appearing in print in such publications as
Viz
comic.

2.
American
to have sex (with). A vulgarism usually heard in the catch-phrase ‘pump 'em and dump 'em', a male expression of the late 1980s.

pump
²
n See
town bike/pump

pumped (up)
adj

excited. An Americanism now in use elsewhere.

pumps
n pl British

tennis shoes, trainers. Like
daps
and
bumpers
, this is typically a schoolchildren's term.

pum-pum, pum
n British

the vagina. An item of black street-talk used especially by males, recorded in 2003. It is pronounced to rhyme with ‘room'.

punani, punany, punash
n British See
poonanie

pung
n South African

trash. Recorded as an item of Sowetan slang in the
Cape Sunday Times
, 29 January 1995.

punk
n

1.
a bumptious but insignificant or contemptible person. This sense of the word has been well-established in American English since the 19th century referring typically to a youth, particularly a presumptuous or irritating one, or to a petty criminal or gangster. The word originated in British slang around the end of the 17th century when it was used to denote a
whore
and later was a precursor of the modern
rent boy
. In the 20th century the term punk fell out of use in Britain, being reintroduced via the American media and later by way of the punk rock phenomenon of 1976 and 1977.

‘The play-house Puncks, who in a loose undress
Each night receive some Cullie's soft address…'
(
Poor Pensive Punck
, poem by John Dryden, 1691)

2.
an adherent of a youth subculture first coalescing in 1976 around punk rock music. Punk rock was so called because of the callow, defiant poses and amateurish musicianship of its proponents. Led by American groups such as the Ramones and the British band the Sex Pistols, punk rock became the musical vogue of 1977, accompanied by a self-consciously nihilistic and pessimist attitude and imagery, spikey and mohican hairstyles, safety pins and chains, etc.

3.
British
skunk
marihuana

punk (someone)
vb American

to humiliate, belittle. ‘Punked!' has been used as an exclamation of malicious triumph since around 2000, and as the title of a TV show in which victims are duped.

punkette
n

a young female
punk
(rocker)

punk out
vb American

to behave in a cowardly manner. An item of street-gang argot, deriving from the sense of
punk
as a weakling.
Wimp out
is a slightly milder version.

punter
n British

a.
a gambler, speculator. Coming from the terminology of card games, ‘punt' was transferred to the context of horseracing, then to betting in general in the 19th century. In the late 1980s it was used e.g. of small investors or share purchasers. The term enjoys continuing popularity.

b.
a customer or client. The sense of punter as a gambler was extended to refer to anyone paying money for a service or item. First specifically applied to prostitutes and street-trader's customers, punter became a key word in the market-oriented 1980s.

See also
Billy (Bunter)

punting
n British

engaged in prostitution. An item of police slang (from the idea of looking for
punters
).

puppies
n pl

female breasts

The jocular nickname/euphemism, popular since 2000, is used by males.

puppy
n Jamaican

a gun.
Dog
is a synonym.

puppy's privates, the
n

a jocular version of
the dog's bollocks
, recorded in Dublin in 2004

purple
n British

a twenty-pound note or the amount of £20, from the colour of the banknote

purple hearts
n pl

amphetamine tablets. The phrase referred to purple or blue coloured tablets of amphetamines, barbiturate or a mixture of the two as prescribed and abused in the USA in the late 1950s. (The ‘purple heart' was a medal awarded for bravery.).

purred off
adj British

ridiculed, humiliated, defeated. A synonym (possibly influenced by the use of
pussy
to denote a weakling) of
mugged off
used by young gang members and teenagers in London in 2012.