"P" Slang

poissonnier

General

Brigade chef de partie for fish and shellfish. Butchers whole fish, builds fumets, plates the most fragile proteins in the building. In smaller kitchens, the saucier covers it — but in classical brigades, it's its own job.

poke

Gaming

Whittle the enemy's HP from a safe distance with abilities or auto-attacks, then back off before they can hit back. Do it enough and they can't fight or take the objective without dying.

poke 'n' beans

Street

How Memphis actually says 'pork and beans.' The 'r' gets eaten, the vowels round off, and you end up with poke 'n' beans — the cheap canned side that fed half the South growing up. Heard at cookouts, on porches, and in old-school Memphis rap.

poke sallet

General

A traditional Southern dish of young pokeweed leaves, boiled in several changes of water to remove their natural toxins.

poker

Street

A slim metal or wooden pick used to clear ash, unclog a bowl or downstem, or push through a pipe.

pokies

General

Poker machines; electronic gambling slot machines found in pubs and clubs.

poking

Gaming

Taking pot-shots to whittle an enemy down or bait info without actually pushing. You're poking to force them to use heals and plates, not to win the fight outright.

polari

General

As a verb, 'to polari' means to talk or to speak the cant.

polecat

General

An Appalachian and Southern term for a skunk (the true polecat is a European animal).

police call

General

An organized sweep in which troops walk a line picking up litter, cigarette butts, and debris to clean an area — to 'police up' the ground.

politics

Street

The unwritten rules of race, gang, and territory that dictate where you sit, who you talk to, and how conflicts are handled.

pollywog

General

A sailor who has never crossed the equator by ship and has not been initiated as a shellback; the target of good-natured hazing during the line-crossing ceremony.

polyamory

Internet

The practice of maintaining multiple simultaneous romantic relationships with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved. Distinct from cheating by its openness.

polytricks

General

A cynical relabelling of 'politics' as 'poly-tricks' — many tricks; practitioners are 'polytricksters'.

polywork

General

The practice of engaging in several types of work or roles simultaneously, often combining traditional employment with freelancing, consulting, or entrepreneurial ventures.

pom

General

A person from England; 'pommy' as adjective. Can be neutral or derogatory ('whingeing pom').

pommecythere

General

A tart-sweet green-to-golden tropical fruit eaten fresh (often with salt and pepper) or juiced. Also 'pommecithere'.

pomo

General

A bottle of hard liquor, especially one bought for a party.

pompasetting

General

To flaunt oneself, especially in new or fancy attire. Also pompaset.

pompey

Street

A term for prison used chiefly in the North of England.

pon

General

On or upon; extremely common ('deh pon' = on/into, 'pree pon' = focused on).

pongo

General

What the Royal Navy and Royal Marines call a soldier — specifically a British Army squaddie. The line is 'where the army goes, the pong goes' — i.e. soldiers stink because they're stuck in the field without proper washing facilities, unlike sailors on a ship with showers.

pooch kick

General

A punt or kickoff kicked with less than full force, often to drop it just short of the return man or pin the offense.

poody

General

A sulk, a strop, a fit of sullen ill temper. Almost always used as 'in a poody' or 'having a poody'. Toddler-tier mood, applied to adults who absolutely should know better. Officially entered the OED in 2024.

pookie

Internet

Tied to the 'pookie' couple meme of an over-the-top loving partner.

pool

General

An empty backyard or public swimming pool skated for its transitions and coping; the historical origin of bowl and vert skating.

poor as a church mouse

General

Having very little money; church mice have no pantry to raid.

poor dab

General

An expression of genuine sympathy — 'poor thing', 'bless him/her'. Reached for when someone's had bad news, fallen ill, or just generally been dealt a rough hand. Said by mams and nans across South Wales with a small shake of the head.

poor little meow meow

Internet

An affectionate label for a villainous or sketchy character a fan loves while fully aware they're 'problematic', often shortened to 'meow meow'.

poor-great

General

Describing someone who puts on airs of wealth despite having little. Also 'poor-behind-great'.

pop

General

What people in the Midwest call soda. Coke, Sprite, Mountain Dew — all pop. The East Coast says soda, the South says coke (for anything), the Midwest says pop and will mildly judge you for not. The dividing line runs roughly through Ohio.

pop flash

Gaming

Thrown so it explodes the moment it clears cover, giving the enemy zero time to turn away. They're blind before they even register the flash coming.

pop off

Internet

To passionately rant or speak your mind with intensity.

pop out

Street

To debut or arrive in a way that demands attention, as in 'pop out and show up.'

pop shove-it

General

A shove-it combined with an ollie so the board rotates 180 degrees flat while airborne, giving more height and control than a flat shove-it.

pop smoke

General

Literally, to set off a colored smoke grenade to mark a position for extraction; figuratively, to leave abruptly or finish a period of service.

pop-trunk

Street

The signature slab move: trunk that pops open on a remote or a flip of the visor switch to reveal a full audio install — amps, subs, neon, mirrors, sometimes the rapper's name spelled out in LEDs. You roll up to the parade, pop the trunk, and the back of your car becomes the speaker stack for the whole block.

pop-up

General

A brevity code for a group that has suddenly appeared, in the air-to-air context between the meld and threat range — an unexpected new contact demanding attention.

pop, dip and spin

General

Before anyone said 'voguing', the category was Pop, Dip and Spin — a literal description of what you did. Pop your arms to the beat, fall into dips to punctuate the line, use spins to carry you between standing and floor work. This is the acrobatic spine of what's now called Old Way: clean, geometric, moving seamlessly up and down. 'Spin' on its own is the same heritage — the spinning, dipping foundation the whole dance grew out of.

popcorn

Gaming

Weak, plentiful enemies that show up in waves and go down instantly. More about screen-filling and chaining than actual threat.

popeye

General

A brevity code reporting that an aircraft is in clouds or an area of reduced visibility (instrument meteorological conditions).

popi

General

A preppy, well-off young person from the upper class, usually flashing brand-name style.

poppy ping

General

A playful Welsh nickname for the microwave, imitating the pop of the food and the ping when it finishes. Also 'poppity ping'.

por la izquierda

General

Getting something done under the table — through bribes, black market, or off-the-books deals. Literally 'by the left'.

pork pies

Street

Cockney rhyming slang meaning lies, almost always shortened to 'porkies'.

porkies

General

Often used lightheartedly for small fibs rather than serious deception.

porky pie

Street

Cockney rhyming slang for 'lie', usually pluralised and shortened to 'porkies'.

porky pies

General

Lies or untruths. 'Porky pies' rhymes with 'lies' and clips to 'porkies'.