Slang & Idioms Starting with "P"

162 entries

• packed like sardines crowded very tightly together
• Paid peanuts Paid a very small, inadequate amount
• Pal Friend
• Pants Underwear (British); also 'rubbish/bad' (slang)
• Par for the course Normal or expected; typical for the situation.
• Paracetamol Acetaminophen/Tylenol (British name for common painkiller).
• Paralytic So drunk you can't move; extremely intoxicated.
• Parched Extremely thirsty, especially after drinking alcohol.
• Pardon? Sorry, what did you say?
• Park the bus To play extremely defensively; to prioritise not conceding over attacking.
• Parky Cold (British)
• Parp A fart (childish onomatopoeia)
• Partner Significant other, gender-neutral term for romantic partner.
• Party animal Someone who loves partying and going out
• pass with flying colours succeed brilliantly
• Pavement The sidewalk (British); the road surface (American).
• pawn in the game someone used by others
• Pay Through the Nose To pay an excessive amount
• paywall payment barrier to access content
• Pea-souper A very thick fog, especially a yellowish smog.
• Peace Out Goodbye (casual).
• Peaky Looking unwell, pale, sickly (British).
• Peckish Slightly hungry (British)
• Pee Informal word for urination.
• Peeved Mildly annoyed or irritated
• Pelican crossing A pedestrian crossing with traffic lights activated by a button.
• Pelting Rain falling hard
• Pen and ink Stink.
• Pen Pusher Office worker (derogatory)
• Penalty Free kick from 12 yards for foul in box.
• Penalty box The 18-yard area in front of goal.
• Penalty shootout Deciding tied knockout games with penalties.
• Peng Attractive, beautiful, high quality (British youth slang).
• Penny pincher A person who is excessively frugal or stingy
• Penny Pinching Extremely frugal, stingy with money
• People Person Good at interacting with others
• Periodt Period. End of discussion. (emphatic)
• Perking up Becoming more lively; recovering energy.
• Pet Term of endearment (Geordie address).
• Pete Tong Wrong.
• Petrified Extremely frightened, frozen with fear
• Petrol Gasoline for vehicles.
• Phenomenal Extraordinary, remarkable.
• Photo finish A race or competition so close it needs a photograph to determine the winner.
• Physio Physiotherapy or physiotherapist.
• Pick me Someone seeking validation by putting down their own group.
• Picking up Recovering; starting to improve.
• Pickle A tangy condiment/relish (British)
• Piddle Childish/mild word for urination.
• Piece of cake Something very easy to do
• Pied Rejected, turned down romantically (British slang).
• Pig out To eat greedily or excessively.
• Piggy Bank A container for saving coins; personal savings
• Pikey British offensive slang for Travellers or someone cheap/dirty.
• Pillock British insult meaning a stupid person; an idiot.
• Pinch To steal; also to arrest.
• Pinch pennies To be very careful with money, to economize strictly
• ping send a quick message
• Pins Legs.
• Pint A pint of beer; going for a drink (British)
• Pip at the post To narrowly defeat someone at the last moment.
• Pip pip An old-fashioned, upper-class British farewell
• Piss Vulgar term for urination; used in many expressions.
• Piss off Rude way to tell someone to go away; to annoy.
• Pissed Drunk (British); angry (American)
• Pissed Off Annoyed or angry
• Pit stop A brief stop during a journey for fuel, food, or bathroom.
• Pitch Football playing surface/field.
• Plaster Band-Aid, adhesive bandage (British).
• Plastered Very drunk; heavily intoxicated.
• Plates Feet (Cockney rhyming slang).
• Plates and dishes Missus (wife).
• Plates of meat Feet.
• play a blinder perform exceptionally well
• Play ball To cooperate or participate.
• Play it by ear To decide what to do as events unfold, without a plan
• Play out from the back Building attacks from the goalkeeper/defenders.
• play with a straight bat behave honestly and fairly
• play your cards close to your chest keep plans secret
• Playbook A set of strategies or standard procedures.
• playing hard to get pretending to be uninterested
• Plazzy Plastic, fake, or cheap (Scouse).
• Pleasure meeting you A polite phrase said when meeting someone for the first time
• Plebs Ordinary people (dismissive)
• Plenty of fish in the sea There are many other potential partners; you'll find someone else.
• Plonk Cheap wine; wine of poor quality.
• Plonker A stupid or foolish person.
• Ploughman's Cold pub lunch
• Ploughman's lunch A cold pub meal of bread, cheese, pickle, and salad (British)
• Plummy Having an upper-class accent
• Po A chamber pot (old-fashioned)
• Point Percy at the porcelain To urinate (male, humorous)
• Pointing Percy at the porcelain Humorous British euphemism for male urination.
• Poky Small and cramped (of a room or space)
• Pony Twenty-five pounds.
• Poo Children's/polite word for feces or defecation.
• Pool A billiards game played in pubs.
• Poop American children's word for feces.
• Pooped Exhausted or very tired (American).
• Poorly Unwell or sick (British, often for children).
• pop the question propose marriage
• Pop to the loo British phrase for quickly going to the toilet.
• Pop to the shops To make a quick trip to the stores (British)
• Porkies Lies.
• Porridge Prison; prison sentence (British).
• Posh Upper class; elegant and expensive
• Posh Do Fancy event/party
• Post Mail/letters.
• Post-it Note Sticky note
• Postbox Mailbox (public collection box)
• Pot and pan Old man (father or husband).
• Pot belly A round, protruding stomach.
• Potty Children's toilet; small toilet for toddlers.
• Potty Slightly crazy or obsessed
• POV Point of view; used to set up a scenario or perspective.
• Powder my nose Women's euphemism for using the toilet.
• Powder room Euphemism for ladies' toilet; women's restroom.
• Powdering the porcelain Using the toilet (humorous euphemism)
• Practice what you preach To act according to your own advice or beliefs
• Pram A baby carriage where the baby lies flat.
• Prang A minor car accident or collision.
• Prat A foolish or annoying person (British)
• Pre-season Training period before competitive season.
• Premier League England's top football division.
• Press Pressuring opponents high up the pitch.
• Pressed Upset, bothered, or agitated about something.
• Pretty penny A large amount of money
• Pricey Expensive
• Privilege Unearned advantages from social position
• Privy Old-fashioned word for toilet, especially outdoor.
• Promoted Moved up to a higher division.
• Proper Real, genuine, very (British)
• Proper Good Really good (British intensifier).
• Proper job Well done, excellent, just right (West Country/Cornwall).
• Props Respect, credit (American)
• Proud of you Expression of pride in someone's achievement
• Pub Public house; British bar/tavern
• Pub crawl Visiting multiple pubs in one drinking session.
• Pub grub Food served in a pub.
• Pub lunch A midday meal at a pub.
• Pub quiz A trivia competition held in a pub.
• Public convenience A public toilet
• Public school Elite private school (British usage)
• Pudding Dessert (British)
• Pull Successfully attract someone romantically; kiss or hook up with (British).
• Pull it off To succeed in doing something difficult.
• pull through survive a serious illness
• Pull yourself up by bootstraps Improve your situation through own efforts
• Pump British childish word for fart.
• Pump ship To urinate (nautical slang)
• Punch the clock To record arrival/departure at work; to work routinely
• Punt To delay or give up on something (American); to bet or take a risk (British).
• Punter A customer; a regular pub-goer.
• puppy love youthful romantic infatuation
• Pushchair A baby stroller.
• Put Out Annoyed, inconvenienced
• Put the cat among the pigeons To cause trouble or controversy; to stir things up.
• Put the kettle on To prepare to make tea (British)
• Put the world to rights To discuss and solve problems over drinks.
• Put wood in t'hole Shut the door (Yorkshire command).
• Put your feet up To relax after work
• put your foot down drive fast / insist on something