Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

(Amelia) #1

paste someone onetv. to land a blow on
someone. (See also paste.) I pasted
him one right on the nose. Next time
you do that, I’ll paste you one!


pastingn. a beating; a defeat in a game.
(See also paste.) Our team took quite
a pasting last weekend. I gave him a
pasting.


patsy[“pAtsi] n. a victim of a scam. (Un-
derworld. See also dupe.) That guy
over there looks like a perfect patsy. We
got nearly twenty-five hundred bucks off
that patsy.


patter of tiny feetn. the sound of young
children; having children in the house-
hold. I really liked having the patter of
tiny feet in the house. Darling, I think
we’re going to be hearing the patter of tiny
feet soon.


paw 1. n. someone’s hand. (Jocular.) Get
your paws off me! That dog bit my paw.



  1. tv. to feel someone or handle someone
    sexually. If you paw me again, I’ll slap
    you! I can’t stand men who paw you to
    pieces. 3. tv. to touch someone more than
    is necessary or desired, without any sex-
    ual intent. I don’t like for people to paw
    me while they’re shaking hands. There is
    no reason to shake my shoulder, too. 
    Tom doesn’t realize that he paws people
    and that it annoys them.


PAXn. passenger(s). (Travel industry ab-
breviation.) How many PAX will that
ship hold? The two PAX missed the
f light.


pay a calltv. to go to the toilet; to leave to
go to the toilet. (See also call of nature;
nature’s call.) Excuse me. I have to pay
a call. Tom left to pay a call. He should
be back soon.


paybackn. retribution. You hit me, I hit
you. That’s your payback.


payola[pe”ol@] n. a bribe. (Originally a
bribe paid to a disk jockey by record pro-
ducers to get extra attention for their
records.) The announcer was fired for
taking payola. There was a big scandal
of payola in the 1950s.


pay one’s duestv. to serve one’s time in a
menial role. (See also pay one’s dues (to
society).) I spent some time as a bus
boy, so I’ve paid my dues in the serving
business. You have to start out at the
bottom. Pay your dues, and then you’ll ap-
preciate better what you have.

pay one’s dues (to society)tv. to serve a
prison or jail sentence. I served ten
years in prison. I’ve paid my dues to soci-
ety. The matter is settled. I took my
medicine and paid my dues. Stop trying
to punish me more.

pay the water billtv.to urinate. I’ll be
with you as soon as I pay the water bill.

p-crutchn.a police car. (Streets. See also
crutch.) Hey, bro, there’s a p-crutch be-
hind you. I think the man in the p-
crutch wants you to pull over.

PDQmod. pretty damn quick; very fast;
very soon. (Initialism.) You get those
papers over here PDQ! They had bet-
ter get this mess straightened out PDQ if
they know what’s good for them.

peace outin.to depart; to leave. It’s late.
Time for me to peace out. Let’s peace
out. It’s too hot in here.

peachn. someone or something excellent.
(Usually a person.) That guy’s a real
peach. This is a peach of a car!

peachy (keen)mod. fine; excellent. Yo u r
idea is really peachy! What a peachy
keen idea!

peanut headn. an oaf; a nerd. You are
so silly, Kim. You’re a real peanut head! 
What peanut head left the door open? It’s
freezing in here!

peanutsn. practically no money at all;
chicken feed. They want me to do
everything, but they only pay peanuts. 
The cost is just peanuts compared to what
you get for the money.

pecker 1. n. the penis. (Usually objection-
able.) He held his hands over his pecker
and ran for the bedroom. 2. n. a stupid or
obnoxious male. (Usually objectionable.)
You stupid pecker! Get out of here!

paste someone one

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