priminaky
I had like to be brought into a priminary; i.e. into trouble; from PREMUNIRE.
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Expressions you’ll hear in Britain and Ireland — distinctly British usage first, then widespread staples.
prince prig
A king of the gypsies; also the head thief or receiver general.
princes
When the majesty of the people was a favourite terra in the House of Commons, a celebrated wit, seeing chimney sweepers dancing on a May-day, styled them the young princes.
princod
A pincushion. SCOTCH--Also a round plump man or woman.
princox
A pert, lively, forward fellow.
princum prancum
Mrs. Princum Prancum; a nice, precise, formal madam.
prinking
Dressing over nicely: prinked up as if he came out of a bandbox, or fit to sit upon a cupboard's head.
All in print, quite neat or exact, set, screwed up. Quite in print; set in a formal manner.
priscian
To break Priscian's head; to write or speak false grammar. Priscian was a famous grammarian, who flourished at Constantinople in the year 525; and who was so devoted to his favourite study, that to speak false Latin in his company, was as disagreeable to him as to break his head.
prison-breaker
The, or the Adventures of John Sheppard, a Farce, 8vo. London, 1725.
prittle prattle
Insignificant talk: generally applied to women and children.
pro
A professional.—Theatrical.
proctorized
TO BE, to be stopped by the Proctor, and told to call on him.—University.
prog
Provision. Rum prog; choice provision. To prog; to be on the hunt for provision: called in the military term to forage.
prog
Meat, food, &c. Johnson calls it "a low word." He was fond of "prog," however.
proof
The best ale at Magdalen College, Oxford.
prop
A blow. As, "a PROP on the nose,"—more street slang than pugilistic.
prop-nailer
A man who "sneaks," or rather snatches, pins from gentlemen’s scarves.
proper
Very, exceedingly, sometimes used ironically; "you are a PROPER nice fellow," meaning a great scamp. A "PROPER man" generally means a perfect man, as far as can be known.
property
To make a property of any one; to make him a conveniency, tool, or cat's paw; to use him as one's own.
prophet
The prophet; the Cock at Temple Bar: so called, in 1788, by the bucks of the town of the inferior order.
props
Stage properties.—Theatrical.
pros
A water-closet. Abbreviated form of πρὸς τινα τόπον. Some say, πρὸς τον τόπον.—Oxford University.
pross
To break in or instruct a stage-infatuated youth. Also, to spunge upon a comrade or stranger for drink. In this latter capacity the word is in connexion with prostitute, a PROSSER being considered a most degraded being, and the word being supposed by many to represent a man who lives on a woman’s prostitution.
proud
Desirous of copulation. A proud bitch; a bitch at heat, or desirous of a dog.
provender
He from whom any money is taken on the highway: perhaps provider, or provider. CANT.
prunella
Mr. Prunella; a parson: parson's gowns being frequently made of prunella.
Ps and Qs
to be careful with details and manners
psalm-smiter
A "Ranter," one who sings at a conventicle. See BRISKET-BEATER.
pub
Or PUBLIC, a public-house; "what PUB do you use?" i.e., which inn or public-house do you frequent?
public ledger
A prostitute: because, like that paper, she is open to all parties.
public patterers
Swell mobsmen who pretend to be Dissenting preachers, and harangue in the open air to attract a crowd for their confederates to rob.
pucker
All in a pucker; in a dishabille. Also in a fright; as, she was in a terrible pucker.
pucker
Poor or bad temper, difficulty, déshabillé. PUCKER UP, to get in a bad temper.
pucker water
Water impregnated with alum, or other astringents, used by old experienced traders to counterfeit virginity.
puckerow
To seize, to take hold of. From the Hindostanee, PUCKERNA.—Anglo-Indian.
pudding time
In good time, or at the beginning of a meal: pudding formerly making the first dish. To give the crows a pudding; to die. You must eat some cold pudding, to settle your love.
pudding-headed fellow
A stupid fellow, one whose brains are all in confusion.
pudding-snammer
One who robs a cook-shop.
puddings
The guts: I'll let out your puddings.
puff
To blow up, or swell with praise; declared by a writer in the Weekly Register, as far back as 1732, to be illegitimate.
puffing
Bidding at an auction, as above; also praising any thing above its merits, from interested motives. The art of puffing is at present greatly practised, and essentially necessary in all trades, professions, and callings. To puff and blow; to be out of breath.
pug
A Dutch pug; a kind of lap-dog, formerly much in vogue; also a general name for a monkey.
pug
A fighting man’s idea of the contracted word to be produced from pugilist.
pug carpenteter
An inferior carpenter, one employed only in small jobs.
pull
To be pulled; to be arrested by a police officer. To have a pull is to have an advantage; generally where a person has some superiority at a game of chance or skill.
pull
An advantage, or hold upon another; "I’ve the PULL over (or of) you," i.e., you are in my power—perhaps an oblique allusion to the judicial sense. See the following.
pullet
A young girl. Filly is an exchangeable term.
pully hawly
To have a game at pully hawly; to romp
pummel
To thrash,—from POMMEL.
pump
A thin shoe. To pump; to endeavour to draw a secret from any one without his perceiving it. Your pump is good, but your sucker is dry; said by one to a person who is attempting to pump him. Pumping was also a punishment for bailiffs who attempted to act in privileged places, such as the Mint, Temple, &c. It is also a piece of discipline administered to a pickpocket caught in the fact, when there is no pond at hand. To pump ship; to make water, and sometimes to vomit. SEA PHRASE.
pump
To extract information by roundabout questioning.
pump water
He was christened in pump water; commonly said of a person that has a red face.
punch
A liquor called by foreigners Contradiction, from its being composed of spirits to make it strong, water to make it weak, lemon juice to make it sour, and sugar to make it sweet. Punch is also the name of the prince of puppets, the chief wit and support of a puppet-show. To punch it, is a cant term for running away. Punchable; old passable money, anno 1695. A girl that is ripe for man is called a punchable wench. Cobler's Punch. Urine with a cinder in it.
punch
Or the London Charivari.
pundit
A person who assumes to be very grave and learned.—Anglo-Indian.
punk
A whore; also a soldier's trull. See TRULL.
punkah
A fan, usually a fan of very large size, worked with a string, and used to ventilate rooms.—Anglo-Indian.
punt
To gamble; PUNTING-SHOP, a gambling-house. Common in ancient writers, but now disused. The word seems confined to playing for "chicken stakes." PUNT means now in the sporting world to back horses for small stakes.
punter
A small professional backer of horses.