Slang Dictionary — Modern Slang, Decoded

Slang (originally media-driven) for a party where attendees combine and consume assorted prescription drugs.

The little circle picture on someone's account. Used as a quick way to clock taste ('the pfp is sending me') or to compliment/drag a vibe without naming it.

British A&E shorthand meaning 'Pissed, Fell Over'. Goes in the notes when someone rolls in on a Friday night reeking of lager with a split eyebrow and no memory of how it happened. Sister term to PAFO ('Pissed And Fell Over') — same diagnosis, slightly different abbreviation depending on which department you trained in. Officially frowned on, unofficially scribbled in every triage bay in the country.

Reacting to minor slights with over-the-top revenge or attitude.

A peterman is a criminal who specializes in opening safes, whether by explosives or tools. 'Peter' is old cant for a safe or strongbox.

Old-school British prison and underworld slang for a cell. Cockney lags have been calling the cell a peter for over a century — 'back in the peter' means back on the bunk, door shut behind you.

Wrong — but specifically in the phrase 'it's all gone Pete Tong', meaning the whole thing has fallen apart spectacularly. Modern Cockney, coined after BBC Radio 1 DJ Pete Tong, whose name happened to rhyme too perfectly to ignore. There's a 2004 film of the same name about a deaf DJ.

A Peterbilt tractor. The brand drivers either swear by or save up for — long hoods, big chrome, and the rumble that turns heads at the truck stop. Calling your rig a Pete is half identification, half flex.

A term of endearment used for almost anyone, regardless of gender or age.

Money or cash, used loosely regardless of actual currency.

On a jobsite, the hammer (or mallet, crowbar, or whatever's heavy and nearby) you reach for when a part won't seat, a board won't line up, or a stuck bolt won't budge. The tool that ends the argument. Bigger problem, bigger persuader.

A shorthand describing a normal pupillary exam, used in neurological assessment.

Cop shorthand for perpetrator — the person who did the crime, or at least the one being collared for it. Loved by US police procedurals; 'perp walk' is when they parade a cuffed suspect past the cameras on purpose.

Describes the critical window in which a patient's vital signs are so unstable that full cardiac arrest is imminent or has just been reversed.

A formal HR document outlining an underperforming employee's shortfalls and goals for improvement over a set period. It is widely seen by workers as a prelude to termination.

The strongest form of an all-kill, where a song tops all major charts including every real-time ranking simultaneously. Rarer and more prestigious than a regular all-kill.

Jokey slang for getting a balky monitor or pump to work by giving it a firm tap or thump.

A device or chamber inside a bong that splits smoke into many small bubbles through slits or holes, giving extra filtration and cooling. Often shortened to 'perc'.

A clipped term for percolator; the bubbling filtration chamber in a bong that cools and smooths the smoke.

Broke. Properly broke — not 'a bit short' but the kind of skint where you're checking down the back of the sofa. Manc-specific; in other parts of the country 'peppered' means something else entirely.

Sometimes ironic, mock-classy about an obvious 'discovery.'

A Twitch emote of Pepe pointing and laughing, used when chat sees an impending fail before the streamer does.

Used as a word to express deep emotional pain or being moved to tears.

Sometimes typed as a standalone reaction meaning 'that was idiotic.'