popsy
A girl.
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Popular Front
A political alliance by all Left Wmg parties (Labour, Liberal, Socialist, but not necessarily Communist) against reac- tionary government and especially dictator- ship.
porcelain god
A doctor, especially one who is idolized or considered infallible
porcelain goddess
A toilet, especially one that is frequently used
porcelain skin
Skin that is very smooth and delicate
pork
To cry pork; to give intelligence to the undertaker of a funeral; metaphor borrowed from the raven, whose note sounds like the word pork. Ravens are said to smell carrion at a distance.
pork and beans
a simple, traditional food
pork pie
A lie.
pork sword
The penis.
pork up
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
porker
An obese person.
porridge
Keep your breath to cool your porridge; i. e. held your tongue.
porridge island
An alley leading from St. Martin's church-yard to Round-court, chiefly inhabited by cooks, who cut off ready-dressed meat of all sorts, and also sell soup.
port and starboard
Left and right sides of a ship
Port Royal
A convent about 8 miles SW. of Versailles which in the 17th century became the headquarters of the Jansenists (tf.v,). The community was suppressed by Louis XIV m 1660, but later again sprang into prominence and was condemned by a bull of Clement XI in 1713. Two years later the convent, which had been removed to Paris about 1637, was razed to the ground.
Porteous Riot
At Edinburgh in September, 1736. John Porteous was captain of the city guard, and, at the execution of a smuggler named Andrew Wilson, ordered the guards to fire on the mob, which had become tumul- tuous; six persons were killed, and eleven wounded.
porterhouse steak
An American term for a steak which contains a small bone. In the States, tender-loin steaks are much eaten. These are from what we call the undercut of the sirloin.
portion off
to separate
Portland Vase
A cinerary urn of transparent dark blue glass, coated with opaque white glass cut in cameo fashton, found in a tomb (supposed to be that of Alexander Seyerus) near Rome m the 17th century. In 1770 it was purchased from the Barberini Palace by Sir William Hamilton for 1,000 guineas* and came afterwards into the possession of the Duke of Portland, one of the trustees of the British Museum, who placed it in that institution for exhibition.
Portmanteau Word
An artificial word made up of parts of others, and expressive of a combina- tion denoted by those parts — such as squarson, a cross between a squire and a parson. Lewis Carroll invented the term in Through the Lookmg-Glass, ch. vi; slzthy, he says, means lithe and slimy ? mimsy is flimsy and miserable, etc. So called because there are two meanings "packed up" in the one word.
portrait
A sovereign. Modification of "Queen’s picture."
posa
A treasurer. A corruption of "purser," the name given to the treasurer in the large Anglo-Chinese mercantile establishments.—Anglo-Chinese.
posh
A halfpenny or other coin of little value.
posh
A halfpenny, or trifling coin. Also a generic term for money.
positive Polly
An excessively optimistic person
Posse Comitatus
The whole force of the county — that is, all the male members of a county over fifteen, who may be summoned by a sheriff to assist in preventing a riot, the rescue of prisoners, or other unlawful dis^ orders. Clergymen, peers, and the infirm are exempt.
possession is nine-tenths of the law
Traditional English proverbial phrase; full definition pending editorial review.
post
To pay down; "POST the pony" signifies to place the stakes played for on the table.
post haste
With great speed or expedition. The allusion is to the old coaching days, when travelling by relays of horses, or with horses placed on the road to expedite the journey, was the rule in cases of urgency.
post master general
The prime minister, who has the patronage of all posts and places.
post meridian
After noon; usually contracted to "P.M." Twas post meridian half-past four, By signal I from Nancy parted.
post mortem
After death; as a post- mortem examination for the purpose of ascer- taining the cause of death.
post nointer
A house painter, who occasionally paints or anoints posts. Knight of the post; a false evidence, one ready to swear any thing for hire. From post to pillar; backwards and forwards.
post office
A public facility for mailing and receiving letters and packages
post-horn
The nose. See PASTE-HORN.
post-mortem
At Cambridge, the second examination which men who have been "plucked" have to undergo.—University.
posted up
Well acquainted with the subject in question, "up to the mark,"—metaphor drawn from the counting-house.
poster boy
A person who represents or symbolizes a particular idea or movement
poster child
A person representing a particular issue or cause
poster girl
A woman who represents or symbolizes a particular idea or movement
postilion of the gospel
A parson who hurries over the service.
pot
Marijuana.
pot
The pot calls the kettle black a-se; one rogue exclaims against another.
pot
A favourite in the betting for a race. Probably so called because it is usual to say that a heavily-backed horse carries "a POT of money." When a favourite is beaten the POT is said to be upset.
pot converts
Proselytes to the Romish church, made by the distribution of victuals and money.
pot hunter
One who hunts more tor the sake of the prey than the sport. Pot valiant; courageous from drink. Potwallopers: persons entitled to vote in certain boroughs by having boiled a pot there.
pot of gold
a valuable reward or treasure
pot valiant
Made courageous by liquor. Pot-wallopers, before the passing of the Reform Bill (1832), were those who claimed a vote as householders, because they had boiled their own pot at their own fireplace in the parish for six months. The earlier form was pot-waller, from A.S. weallan, to boil.
pot-boiler
A picture hurriedly painted for the purpose of "keeping the POT BOILING."—Artistic slang.
pot-faker
A hawker of crockery and general earthenware.
pot-hat
A low-crowned hat, as distinguished from the soft wideawake and the stove-pipe.
pot-hunter
A sportsman who shoots anything he comes across, having more regard to filling his bag than to the rules which regulate the sport. A man who fires at anything, regardless of the rules which govern true sportsmen.
pot-luck
Just as it comes; to take POT-LUCK, i.e., one’s chance of a dinner, or of what there is for dinner. A hearty term, used to signify that whatever the pot contains the visitor is welcome to.
pot-valiant
Courageous through application to the bottle. Possessed of Dutch courage.
pot-wabblers
Persons entitled to vote for members of parliament in certain boroughs, from having boiled their pots therein. These boroughs are called pot-wabbling boroughs.
pot-walloper
An elector in certain boroughs before the passing of the first Reform Bill, whose qualification consisted in being a housekeeper,—to establish which it was only necessary to boil a pot within the limits of the borough, by the aid of any temporary erection. This implied that he was able to provide for himself, and not necessitated to apply for parochial relief. Honiton, Tregoney, Ilchester, Old Sarum, &c., had this privilege before the passing of the first Reform Bill. Also, a scullion.
potato chaser
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
potato-trap
The mouth.—Originally a Hibernicism.
potatoe trap
The mouth. Shut your potatoe trap and give your tongue a holiday; i.e. be silent. IRISH WIT.
potemkin village
A fake or pretentious display of prosperity or quality
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