Slang Dictionary — Modern Slang, Decoded

Deliberately standing out with bold clothing, accessories, or behavior to draw the eye of potential partners, much like a peacock displaying its feathers.

A conspicuous zip tie, ribbon, or tamper-evident tag applied after a props check to show a replica weapon has been cleared by security and must stay secured. Also used as a verb, 'to peace-bond.'

A blockage of a pulmonary artery, usually by a blood clot that traveled from the legs, causing sudden shortness of breath and chest pain.

'Permanent Change of Station' — an official relocation of a service member (and often family) from one duty station to another for an extended assignment.

British/Commonwealth infantry's self-deprecating label. Stems from the bone-deep knowledge that whatever the plan is, the infantry walks it, digs it, holds it, and bleeds for it while everyone else gets a vehicle.

Personal Best: your best-ever result on a given lift or exercise, used interchangeably with PR (more common in the UK).

The money paid to workers; slang 'on the payroll' means being paid, sometimes illicitly.

Money paid, often covertly, to promote something — classically to get songs played on radio.

The practice of openly disclosing pay ranges and compensation information, whether by employers in job postings or among coworkers, to promote fairness and reduce pay gaps.

The long-running friendly dispute between New Zealand and Australia over which country invented the pavlova dessert.

A pavlova, a meringue-based dessert topped with cream and fruit.

Marks the held-breath beat right before a clutch or punchline.

Opening and closing the pause menu rapidly so the game only advances a single frame each time. It buys human reaction time on inputs that would otherwise be impossible to nail live, turning frame-perfect tricks into something a real person can pull off.

To sort, arrange or organise something. The all-purpose MLE verb for getting things in order — a plan, a meet-up, your life.

Witty talk, banter or a person's gift of the gab; 'gallus patter' is confident chat.

A patsy is someone framed or manipulated into taking the blame for a crime, or an easy dupe. It overlaps with 'fall guy.'

Marked with a tattoo that signifies formal membership in a prison gang.

Pronounced 'PASS-tee' (not 'paste-y'). A half-moon pastry stuffed with diced beef, potato, onion, rutabaga and a pinch of pepper, baked till golden. Brought to the U.P. by Cornish copper miners in the 1800s and adopted by every wave that followed. Eat with gravy if you're a downstater, ketchup if you're a Yooper — the debate is real.

Earnings that continue with minimal ongoing work after initial setup, such as from investments, royalties, rentals, or automated online products. It is a central goal of hustle-culture aspirants.

The tendency of employers to pay less, or demand more unpaid effort, in fields workers are assumed to love, treating passion as partial compensation.

When a trans person is perceived by others as cisgender — i.e. read simply as a man or a woman, no questions asked. For some it brings safety and ease; passing privilege can mean less harassment, less danger, better treatment. But it's a loaded word. Not every trans person wants it or chases it, and plenty push back on the framing — 'passing' quietly implies you're passing as something you're not, which a lot of people reject. Originally pulled into queer use from the older sense of passing across a racial line.

A famous Kingston street dance; also used to mean gossip, drama or a public fuss.

Caribbean import (from Jamaican 'passa passa') that London drill picked up and made its own. A 'passa' is a beef, a row, a juicy bit of drama — anything kicking off that people will be talking about. Can be street violence, can be a falling-out, can be gossip with weight behind it.

In New Orleans, 'pass by' means to actually stop in. You're not strolling past the bar, you're going inside, ordering a drink, and catching up. Tourists get tripped up by this one constantly.