pensioner
A man of the most degraded condition who lives off the miserable earnings of a prostitute. There is an unmentionable prefix to the word PENSIONER. See PONCE.
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penthouse nab
A broad brimmed hat.
pen’orth
Value for money; as, "I’ll have my PEN’ORTH,"—given irrespective of the actual amount.
People of ihe Rock
The inhabitants of Hejaz or Arabia Petraea.
people only throw stones at trees with fruit on them
English proverb; full definition pending editorial review.
people person
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
people who live in glass houses should not throw stones
Those who have vulnerabilities should not criticize others
pep in one's step
a lively and energetic gait
pepper
To thrash, or strike.—Pugilistic, but used by Shakspeare.—Eastern Counties.
pepper-boxes
The buildings of the Royal Academy and National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. The name was first given by a wag, in allusion to the cupolas erected by Wilkins, the architect, upon the roof, which, from their form and awkward appearance, at a distance suggest to the stranger the fact of their being enlarged PEPPER-BOXES. See BOILERS.
Peppercorn Rent
A nominal rent. A pepper- berry is of no appreciable value, and given as rent is a simple acknowledgment that the tene- ment virtually belongs to the person by whom the peppercorn is given, though the freehold belongs to him who receives it.
peppered
Infected with the venereal disease.
per hour
used to express a rate of something happening or being done
percenter
An agent.
perch
Or ROOST, a resting-place; "I’m off to PERCH," i.e., I am going to bed.
Pere la Chaise
This great Parisian cemetery is on the site of a religious settlement founded by the Jesuits in 1626, and later en- larged by Louis XIV's confessor, Pere la
Peregrine Falcon
A falcon of wide distribu- tion, formerly held in great esteem for hawk- ing, and so called (13th century) because taken when on their passage or peregrination, from tih« breeding place, instead of straight off the nest, as was the case with most other hawks (Lat. peregrinus, a foreigner, one coming from foreign parts).
perfect friendship cannot be without equality
English proverb; full definition pending editorial review.
perfect storm
A situation where several problems combine to create a severe crisis
perfectamundo
perfect
perform
To carry out a design, generally a dishonest one. To "PERFORM on a flat" is to cozen a fool.
Perilous Castle
The castle of '.'the good" Lord Douglas was so called in the reign of Edward I, because Douglas destroyed several English gar- risons stationed there, and vowed to be re- venged on anyone who should dare to take possession of it, Scott calls it "Castle Dan- gerous" (see Introduction of Castle Dan- gerous).
perkin
Beer. Dandy or affected shortening of the widely-known firm, Barclay and Perkins.
permanent shave
To be killed or eliminated
Permian Strata
The uppermost strata of the Palaeozoic series, consisting chiefly of jed sandstone an$ magnesian limestone, which rest on the carboniferous strata; so called by Sir Roderick Murchison (1841) from Perm, in Russia, where they are most distinctly developed.
permish
permission
perp walk
to publicly parade a suspect in handcuffs
perpendicular
A lunch taken standing-up at a tavern bar. It is usual to call it lunch, often as the PERPENDICULAR may take the place of dinner.
Perpetual Motion
The term applied to some theoretical force that will move a machine for- ever of itself — a mirage which holds attractions for some minds much as did the search for the philosophers' stone, the elixir of life, and the fountain of perpetual youth in less enlightened times.
perry’s
(William) London Guide and Stranger’s Safeguard against Cheats, Swindlers, and Pickpockets, by a Gentleman who has made the Police of the Metropolis an object of inquiry twenty-two years (no wonder when the author was in prison a good portion of that time!) 1818.
person from Porlock
Someone who interrupts or disrupts a creative process
persona grata
An acceptable person; one liked. The Count [Miinster] is not a persona grata at court, as the royal family did not relish the course he took in Hanoverian affairs in 1866.— Truth, Oct.
personal capital
An individual's unique set of skills and experiences
persuaders
Spurs. The kiddey clapped his persuaders to his prad but the traps boned him; the highwayman spurred his horse hard, but the officers seized him.
pert as a pearmonger
Very pert.
Perth is Celtic for a bush
The county of Perth is the county of bushes.
perv
A pervert.
Perverts the Prophets, and purloins the Psalms
English proverb; full definition pending editorial review.
pervo
pervert
pesky
An intensitive expression, implying annoyance; as, "A PESKY, troublesome fellow." Corruption of PESTILENT; or, Irish, PEASGACH, rough, rugged. PESKY has now become more American than English. Pesky Ike is the name of a popular American drama.
pet
In a pet; in a passion or miff.
pet peeve
A minor annoyance that a person finds particularly irritating
Pete Tong
Wrong.
peter
The penis.
peter
A portmanteau or cloke-bag. Biter of peters; one that makes it a trade to steal boxes and trunks from behind stage coaches or out of waggons. To rob Peter to pay Paul; to borrow of one man to pay another: styled also manoeuvring the apostles.
peter
A partridge.—Poacher’s term.
Peter and St
John the Baptist during the festivities then held; used also of the festivities themselves. Henry VIII approved of the pageants, etc., and on one occasion, to encourage them, took his queen, Katharine of Aragon, to witness the proceedings at "the King's Heade in Cheape." The custom fell into abeyance in 1 527 on account of the sweating sickness, but was revived a few years later.
Peter Funk
(U.S.A.) A swindle. A Peter Funk Auction is one that has been rigged.
peter grievous
A miserable, melancholy fellow; a croaker.
peter lay
The department of stealing portmanteaus, trunks, &c.
peter lug
Who is Peter Lug? who lets the glass stand at his door, or before him.
Peter Pan syndrome
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
PETER PINDAR
Odes of Condolence. Give a dog a bad name and hang him. If you want to do anyone a wrong, throw dirt on him or rail against him. When once a person's reputation has been besmirched he might as well be hanged as try to rehabilitate himself.
Peter's Pence
An annual tribute of one penny, paid at the feast of St. Peter to the see of Rome, collected at first from every family, but afterwards restricted to those "who had the value of thirty pence in quick or live stock." This tax was collected in England from about the middle of the 8th century till it was abolished by Henry VIII in 1534.
Petit Sergeanty
See SERGEANTY. Petitio principii (pe tish' yo prin sip' i 1). A beg- ging of the question, or assuming in the pre- mises the question you undertake to prove.
Petitioners and Abhorxers
Two political parties in the reign of Charles II. The former were those members of the Opposition or "Country" party who, in 1679, presented petitions to the King asking him to summon a Parliament in 1680. Their opponents pre- sented counter-petitions expressing their ab- horrence of the attempt to encroach on the royal prerogative, and were thus called Ab- horrers.
petticoat hold
One who has an estate during his wife's life, called the apron-string hold.
petticoat pensioner
One kept by a woman for secret services.
petty fogger
A little dirty attorney, ready to undertake any litigious or bad cause: it is derived from the French words petit vogue, of small credit, or little reputation.
Peutingerian Map
A map of the roads of the ancient Roman world, constructed in the time of Alexander Severus (A.D. 226), discovered in the early 16th century by Conrad Peutinger, of Augsburg.