ting careless. The cops think they caught
the pin this time.pinch 1. n. a small amount of a powdered
substance, such as salt, snuff, a spice, etc.
(Not slang.) He put a pinch under his
lips and walked up to home plate. Do
you have any oregano? I need a pinch. 2.
tv. to arrest someone. The cops pinched
her in front of her house. The police cap-
tain pinched her for passing bad checks. 3.
n. the arrest of someone. They made
the pinch in front of her house. The
pinch was for forgery. 4. tv. to steal some-
thing. (See also cop.) The kid pinched
a candy bar right off the counter. I
pinched these paper clips from my office.
pinchedmod. arrested. (See also cop;
pinch.) I got pinched for speeding.
Sam got pinched for a parole violation.
pinch hitter 1. n. a substitute batter in the
game of baseball. Sam is a pinch hit-
ter for Ralph, who broke his wrist. Time
to send in a pinch hitter. 2. n. any substi-
tute person. In school today we had a
pinch hitter. Our teacher was sick. I
want my own doctor, not a pinch hitter!
pinkedmod. alcohol intoxicated; tipsy.
She’s sitting there looking a bit pinked.
I want to get pinked. Fill it up, bartender.
pink elephants and pink spiders 1. n.
the delirium tremens. He’s screaming
with pink elephants again. He was shak-
ing something awful from the pink spiders.
- n. hallucinatory creatures seen during
the delirium tremens. (See also seeing
pink elephants.) He said pink ele-
phants were trying to kill him. He’s really
drunk. If you ever find yourself sur-
rounded with pink elephants, you’ve got
the DTs.
pinkieGo to (little) pinkie.
pinko 1. n. a communist. (Popular during
the 1950s.) Get out of here, you pinko!
He called me a pinko, so I left. 2. mod.
having communist tendencies; in the
manner of a communist. Get that
pinko jerk out of here! Take your old
pinko laws and go to hell.
pink slip 1. n. a piece of paper giving no-
tice of dismissal from employment; any
dismissal from employment. I got a
pink slip today. I guess I had it coming.
I hope I don’t get a pink slip. I need this
job. 2. tv. to dismiss someone from em-
ployment. (See also pink-slipped.)
They pink slipped the whole office force to-
day. If your work doesn’t improve, I will
be forced to pink slip you. 3. n. a learner’s
permit for driving an automobile. (In
some U.S. states.) You can’t even drive
in your own driveway without a pink slip.
He wrecked the car one day after getting
his pink slip.
pink-slippedmod. fired; dismissed from
employment. I guess I’ve done it. I’m
pink-slipped. Now I’m a member of the
young and pink-slipped crowd.pink spidersGo to pink elephants.
pinkyGo to (little) pinkie.pinnedmod. arrested. (Underworld.)
The boys in blue pinned him and took him
away. He had a gun in his belt when
they pinned him.
pin someone’s ears back 1. tv. to scold
someone severely. She really pinned his
ears back. The teacher pinned the kids’
ears back for chewing gum. 2. tv. to beat
someone, especially about the head.
Lefty says I’m supposed to pin your ears
back. You do something like that again,
and I’ll pin your ears back.pinstripern. a businessman or business-
woman wearing a pinstriped suit. (See
also suit; vest.) Who’s the pinstriper
driving the beemer? Wall Street is noth-
ing but wall-to-wall pinstripers.
pint-sizedmod. small; miniature. I won’t
fit into one of those pint-sized cars. My
car is not pint-sized. Tell that little pint-
sized guy to beat it.pip 1. n. a pimple; a zit. Good grief, I’ve
got ear-to-ear pips! Do you ever outgrow
pips? 2. n. postindustrial person. (Usu-
ally PIP. Acronym. Refers to a person as
a member of a group that has become
useless because of technological change.)
The world really doesn’t really needpip