to have the pip
Preserved but no longer current.
Also seen as: to get the pip
Meaning · English
To be thoroughly "fed up,'* downhearted, and miserable. Prob- ably connected with the poultry disease which causes fowls to pine away.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to have the pip” mean?
To be thoroughly "fed up,'* downhearted, and miserable. Prob- ably connected with the poultry disease which causes fowls to pine away.
Is “to have the pip” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.