P
Pachman
An
itinerant salesman.
Packman's Puzzle
A street or
housing estate where the house numbers are allocated in a complicated
fashion which causes problems to visitors, tradesmen etc., etc.,
Paish
Literally,
from the Welsh word for 'petticoat', but used to suggest effeminacy;
"He's a nice chap, but a bit (of a) paish."
Pass the time of day
To exchange
pleasantries when meeting friends and acquaintances; "He was in an
'urry, but still managed to pass the time of day with me!"
Pisjty/Pishti
Possibly a
derivation of 'paish'.
Palaver
Fuss and
bother, as in "He's done it this time for sure - there'll be a lot of
palaver about this!"
Parading
Back and
forth; "He was in and out of bed all night - parading to the toilet."
Passed very high
Possessing
good academic qualifications; "Their youngest got a good 'ead on 'im -
passed very high you know!"
Pat, black...
Wenglish
for 'cockroach'.
Patch, not a...
Not to be
comparedwith, as in "These cakes are not a patch on those ones last
week!"
Pay your way
To meet
one's committments; "By the time I paid my way, there's nothing
left..."
Pelting
(a) raining
heavily
(b) Throwing stones
Pewer
Wenglish
for 'pure'
Picking (with) rain
Beginning
to rain; "It's picking (with) rain again - best take the brolly I
s'pose?", or "It's picking to rain.", from the Welsh word 'pigan'
meaning 'starting to rain'.
Picking up with
Getting
into company with; "They picked up with some nice people on holiday."
Picking up on
Criticising;
"She's always picking up on the way I do talk!"
Pickings
Selection,
choice, as in "By the time I got to the jumble sale, all the best
pickings were gone!"
Pics
Welsh-cakes,
from the Welsh "Piciau ar y maen" (on the stone)
Piece
(a) A young
woman; "Have you met his new girlfriend? - a tidy piece she is!"
(b) A round of bread and butter
Pikelet
A much
enjoyed South Wales tea-time treast which might be described as a 'drop
scone'. The word is a derivation of 'pyglyd' (pitchy bread).
Pinking up
To make
oneself ready, to 'titivate' (from the Welsh)
Pisio cath/pisio crics
Very weak
tea
Pitch in
(a) To set
to work with a will; "I I atto leave myself plenty of time to catch the
bus, so I was up early and pitched in with my work first go-off!" (b)
Get on with eating; "You must be starving - pitch in, there's 'eaps for
everybody!"
Pitched a tale
Told an
improbable story "... more fool 'er! 'E pitched 'er a tale about why 'e
was late - an' she swallowed it!"
Playing the bear with
Causing a
good deal of pain/suffering/bother; "This weather do play the bear with
me... "
Plod
Wenglish
pronunciation of 'plaid', as in "She looks very smart in her Scotch
plod rig-out."
Potch
(a) A
mixture of potato and swede. The Welsh word is 'ponsh-maib'
(b) To mess about with, as in ""He's always potchin(g) with something
or other in that shed of his down the back... "
(c) Trouble, as in "She's forever in some potch or other about
something!"
Pouring, raining...
Rather than
say "It's pouring with rain", many Wenglish speakers prefer "It's
raining, pouring!", or "It's pouring down!"
Proper
Interchangeable
with 'real' meaning 'definite', as in "Don't give it to him - he's a
proper flag!"
Puff, out of...
Out of
breath; "She was out a puff when she got there because she'd been
rushing up the trip."
Pug
Looking
less than clean, in need of a wash; "There's pug you're looking - can't
you have a tidy wash?" From the Welsh 'pyglyd' meaning 'like pitch'.
Pull
(a) A bout
of, as in "This morning again, 'e 'ad a nasty pull a coughin'!"
(b) To climb, as in "They live right up on the top - it's one 'ell of a
pull to get there!"
Pulled about
Messed up,
disarranged; "I hate the place all pulled about when you're having the
(chimney) sweep!"
Pulled to pieces
Very
severely criticised; "The teacher pulled her to pieces about the way
she was carryin(g) on!"
Put
(a) Place,
as in "When she told me that, it shook me rigid - I didn't know where
to put myself for a minute!"
(b) Provide, as in "... and of course, I put tea for all of them... "
(c) Serve with; "Put me a couple of them pears please?"
Putickler/particular
(a) Fussy,
as in "...very putickler about 'is food 'e is..."
(b) In question, as in "... well as I was saying, this particular man
was looking for 'is butty.... "
Smarten oneself up; "Tell her I'll be up in a minute - as soon as I've put myself straight like..."
