• PEA
n. a peanut …1954 Amer. dial.
• THE PEA
n. the person in authority; the boss …1969 Aust. sl.
• PEA-BRAIN
n. a foolish or unintelligent person; an empty-headed person …1959 colloq.
• PEA-BRAINED
adj. foolish, slow-witted, unintelligent, stupid …1950 sl.
• PEACEBREAKER
n. a disruptive person; a troublemaker …1873 Amer. dial.
• PEACE DISTURBER
n. a disruptive person; a troublemaker …1965 Amer. dial.
• PEACH
n. 1. 1754 sl. – a sexually attractive woman
n. 2. 1863 sl. – an excellent person or thing
n. 3. Bk1902 sl. – an omnibus spy
n. 4. Bk1913-17 colloq. – a person or thing that is especially pleasing; anything especially choice; something stylish and up-to-date
n. 5. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – something beautiful or attractive
vb. 15C sl. – to inform against an accomplice; to tell or tattle; to give information
• PEACHAGULU
adj. Bk1913-17 Amer. dial. – splendid, excellent
n. 1. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – something beautiful or attractive
n. 2. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – something excellent
• PEACHALULU
n. 1. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – something beautiful or attractive
n. 2. Bk1942 Amer. college sl. – an attractive girl
n. 3. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – something excellent
• PEACHAMAROOT
n. 1. Bk1913-17 Amer. dial. – someone or something very fine, splendid or excellent
n. 2. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – something beautiful or attractive
n. 3. Bk1942 Amer. college sl. – an attractive girl
• PEACHAROONEY
adj. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – excellent; first-rate
n. Bk1913-17 Amer. dial. – something splendid, fine, or excellent
• PEACHERINE
n. 1900 sl., chiefly US – one who has attractive qualities; anything especially choice; an excellent person or thing; a sexually attractive person or thing
• PEACHERINO
n. 1900 sl., chiefly US – a particularly pleasing person or thing; something or someone very fine, splendid, or excellent; a sexually attractive person
• PEACHEROO
n. 1. 1900 sl., chiefly US – a sexually attractive person
n. 2. 1900 sl. – an excellent person or thing
• PEACHEROONEY
n. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – something excellent
• PEACHES
adj. 1. L19 US teen sl. – attractive, sexually alluring
adj. 2. 1910s US sl. – fine, excellent
n. 1. 1920s African-American sl. – the male genitals
n. 2. 1920s African-American sl. – the vagina
n. 3. 1980s US homosexual sl. – the buttocks
n. 4. 1960s African-American sl. – a hermaphrodite
n. 5. 1960s drug culture sl. – Dexedrine
• PEACHES AND PEARS
n. M19 rhyming sl. – stairs
• PEACH-FUZZ
adj. 1990s Amer. sl. – young; inexperienced
n. 1950s homosexual sl. – an attractive teenager
• PEACH-LIMB TEA
n. a whipping; punishment with peach tree switch …1941 Amer. dial.
• PEACH-ORCHARD BEAU
n. a clandestine sweetheart or lover …1949 Amer. dial.
• PEACH-ORCHARD BOAR
n. a man who is sexually passionate and unrestrained …1953 Amer. dial.
• PEACH-ORCHARD CRAZY
adj. very passionate, licentious …1953 Amer. dial.
• PEACH TREE
n. a hermaphrodite …1960s African-American sl.
• PEACH-TREE OIL
n. a whipping; punishment with peach tree switch …1940 Amer. dial.
• PEACH-TREE TEA
n. a whipping; punishment with peach tree switch …1912 Amer. dial.
• PEACHY
adj. 1. 1900 Amer. sl. – excellent, wonderful; great, fine, splendid
adj. 2. 1926 sl. – sexually attractive
• PEACHY-KEEN
adj. excellent, wonderful; great …1955 Amer. sl.
• PEACIFIED
adj. pacified, peaceable …1952 Amer. dial.
• PEACIFY
vb. to make calm, to pacify; to soothe, quiet, or subdue …1886 rare
• PEACOCK
vb. to acquire the best pieces of land in such a way that the surrounding land is useless to others …Aust. obs. sl.
• PEACOCKIZE
vb. to act the peacock; to strut about vainly …1598 obs. rare
• THE PEADODDLES
n. the jitters, nervousness …1835 Amer. dial.
• THE PEADOODLES
n. the jitters, nervousness …1992 Amer. dial.
• PEA-EATER
n. a French person …1966 Amer. dial.
• PEA EYE
n. 1. 1966 Amer. dial. – a small, round eye
n. 2. 1975 Amer. dial. – a Prince Edward Islander; broadly, anyone from any of the Canadian Maritime Provinces
• PEA-EYED
adj. having small, round, beady eyes …1966 Amer. dial.
• PEAGOOSE
n. 1606 obs. – a dolt, a fool; a simpleton, a silly fellow
• PEAHEAD
n. an unpleasant or dull-witted person …1960 Amer. dial., usually derogatory
• PEA HILL
n. a remote, small, or poor place …1851 Amer. dial.
• PEAK AND PINE
vb. to go about dispiritedly or listlessly …1851 Amer. dial.
• PEAKED
adj. 1. 1864 Amer. dial. – in poor health, sickly, unwell
adj. 2. Bk1905 Amer. dial. – thin, emaciated, as from sickness
• PEAKED AND PINED
adj. listless; sickly …1872 Amer. dial.
• PEAKED AND PINEY
adj. listless; sickly …1957 Amer. dial.
• PEAKEDY
adj. peaked; in poor health, sickly, unwell …1956 Amer. dial.
• PEAKING
adj. sickly, unwell, in poor health …1902 Amer. dial.
• PEAKISH
adj. sickly, unwell, in poor health …1877 Amer. dial.
• PEAKY
adj. sickly, unwell, in poor health, ill…1821
• PEALER
n. something remarkable of its kind; a hard-working, energetic person …1823 Amer. dial.
• PEANUT
adj. 1934 Amer. sl. – small, trivial
n. 1. 1915 Amer. dial. – a small or insignificant person; also, a term of endearment for a small child
n. 2. 1967 Amer. dial. – a small or insignificant enterprise
• PEANUT BUTCHER
n. a vendor of newspapers aboard a passenger train …1902 US sl.
• PEANUT-EATER
n. a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist church …1967 Amer. dial.
• PEANUT FLOAT
n. a nonexistent object used as the basis of a practical joke …1968 Amer. dial.
• PEANUT GALLERY
n. 1. 1888 Amer. sl. – the topmost rows of a theatre
n. 2. 20C Amer. sl. – a group or individual whose opinion is considered inconsequential
• PEANUT HEAVEN
n. the upper balcony in a theatre …1897 Amer. dial.
• PEANUT LINE
n. a branch railroad that is not very important or gives poor service …1967 Amer. dial.
• PEANUT ROASTER
n. among railroaders and loggers: a small steam engine …1945 Amer. sl.
• PEANUT ROOST
n. the upper balcony in a theatre …1966 Amer. dial.
• PEANUT ROW
n. a small, unimportant, or out-of-the-way place …1968 Amer. dial., derogatory
• PEANUTS
n. a small amount of money; a trivial sum …1934 Amer. sl.
• PEANUT SPECIAL
n. a branch railroad that is not very important or gives poor service …1950 Amer. dial.
• PEANUTSVILLE
n. a small, unimportant, or out-of-the-way place …1968 Amer. dial., derogatory
• PEA PICKER
n. 1. 1927 Amer. dial. – a rustic or countrified person; a bumpkin; an unskilled labourer
n. 2. 1967 Amer. dial. – one’s hand
• PEAR
vb. to appear; to seem …1851 Amer. dial.
• PEA RIDGE
n. a remote, small, or poor place …1851 Amer. dial.
• PEA RIPPER
n. a very hot day, hot enough to bust open peas on the vine …1984 Amer. dial.
• PEA-RIPPING
adj. of the weather: hot …1984 Amer. dial.
• PEARL
n. 1. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – a venereal bubo
n. 2. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – a syphilis sore
• PEARL DIVER
n. 1913 sl., orig. US – someone who works as a dishwasher in a café or restaurant
• PEARLER
adj. Aust., colloq. – excellent, pleasing
n. 1935 sl., chiefly Aust. – an excellent thing; something impressive
• PEARLIE
n. a clear glass marble of tinted colour …c1970 Amer. dial.
• PEARLIES
n. the teeth …1914 sl.
• THE PEARLIES
n. an uncontrollable nervous shaking of the bowing arm sometimes experienced by violinists, etc. before a performance …1974 sl.
• PEARLS
n. teeth …1950 Amer. dial.
• PEARLY
n. a clear glass marble of tinted colour …c1970 Amer. dial.
• PEARLY GATES
n. 1. a1618 – the entrance to heaven
n. 2. 20C Brit. sl. – the teeth
• PEARLY WHITES
n. 1935 sl. – the teeth
• PEART
adj. 1828 Amer. dial. – sprightly; lively; in good health; clever
adv. 1832 Amer. dial. – briskly, quickly; in a lively or agreeable way
• PEARTEN
vb. 1. 1827 Amer. dial. – to make lively or cheerful; to enliven
vb. 2. 1851 Amer. dial. – to become lively, active, or cheerful; to hasten
• PEARTENING POWDER
n. 1974 Amer. dial. – tonic; vitamins
• PEARTEN UP
vb. 1. Bk1913-17 Amer. dial. – to go more briskly
vb. 2. Bk1913-17 Amer. dial. – to seem more lively
• PEARTING POWDER
n. 1974 Amer. dial. – tonic; vitamins
• PEAR-TOED
adj. 1965 Amer. dial. – having feet that turn inward; pigeon-toed
• PEASANT
n. 1. 1940s colloq. – a person who lives in the country; a rustic
n. 2. 1943 colloq. – someone considered ignorant, stupid, or awkward; an uncouth or uncultured person
• PEA-SHOOTER
n. 1. World War II US Army & Air Force usage – a fighter pilot or plane
n. 2. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – a rifle; a firearm, esp. one so called by a person who scorns its small calibre
• PEASLY
adj. 1969 Amer. dial. – said of a person who looks poorly or unhealthy
• PEAS ON A TRENCHER
n. US Civil War usage – the breakfast bugle call
• PEA-SOUP
n. 1. 1849 sl. – a thick fog, esp. one playing London
n. 2. 1896 N. Amer. sl., derogatory – a French-Canadian; the French-Canadian patois
• PEA-SOUPER
n. 1. 1849 sl. – a thick fog, esp. one playing London
n. 2. 1930 Amer. dial., derogatory – a person of French background or heritage, esp. a French Canadian
• PEA STICKS
n. a remote, small, or poor place …1851 Amer. dial.
• PEA-TAD
n. something small and insignificant …1968 Amer. dial.
• PEB
n. a troublesome person or animal …1903 Aust. sl.
• PEBBLE
n. 1. 1829 colloq., chiefly Aust. – a troublesome or obstinate person or animal
n. 2. 1829 Aust. sl. – someone who perseveres; a resolute person
• PEBBLE-BEACHED
adj. 1. 1886 sl. – utterly penniless; very poor, destitute; in want of money
adj. 2. B1900 sl. – dazed, absent-minded
• PEBBLE-HEARTED
adj. 1887 – hard-hearted; cruel; unfeeling
• PEBBLES
n. 19C Brit. sl. – the testicles
• PECAN
n. 1. 1968 Amer. dial. – the nose
n. 2. 1968 Amer. dial. – a Black person
• PECCADILLIE
n. 1660 obs. rare – a minor fault or sin; a trivial offense, a petty crime
• PECCAMINOUS
adj. 1656 obs. – full of sins, sinful; later: bawdy; indecent, lewd
• PECK
n. 1. 1893 sl. – a brief or perfunctory kiss
n. 2. 1932 Amer., chiefly railroad workers usage – a short lunch break
n. 3. 1932 African-American sl. – a poor White person
n. 4. 1967 Amer. dial. – a toss, a hard throw
vb. 1. 1807 Sc. – to beat, to strike; to punish
vb. 2. 1967 Amer. dial. – to throw, to make a throw at something
vb. 3. 1969 sl. – to kiss briefly
• PECK-A-BACK
n. a piggyback ride …1969 Amer. dial.
• PECKAGE
n. food; food supply …17C cant
• PECK AND BOOZE
n. meat and drink …18C sl.
• PECK AND PERCH
n. food and lodging …1828 sl.
• PECK AND TIPPLE
n. meat and drink …19C sl.
• PECK AT
vb. 1870 Amer. dial. – to nag at; to find fault with
• PECKAWOOD
n. 1929 US sl. – a poor White person
• PECKER
n. 1. 1848 sl. – resolution; courage
n. 2. M19 sl. – the appetite
n. 3. 1902 sl., chiefly US – the penis
n. 4. 1906 Amer. dial. – a woodpecker
n. 5. 1986 Amer. dial., chiefly African-American – a White person; esp. a poor White
• PECKERBIRD
n. 1965 Amer. dial. – a woodpecker
• PECKERHEAD
n. 1. 1955 Amer. dial. – a disparaging term for a person; a thick-headed or stupid person; a jerk, an oaf; a despised man; an unpleasant or despicable person, usually male
n. 2. 1967 Amer. dial. – a woodpecker
• PECKER POLE
n. 1. 1956 Amer. dial. – a long, thin log
n. 2. 1958 Amer. dial. – a small tree or sapling
• PECKER-SUCKER
n. 1968 Amer. dial. – one who tries too hard to gain somebody’s favour
• PECKERWOOD
n. 1. 1835 Amer. dial. – a woodpecker
n. 2. 1928 Amer. dial., chiefly Black usage Amer. dial., derogatory – a poor, backward, rural White person; often used as a term of abuse for White person
n. 3. 1986 Amer. dial. – a disparaging term for a person; a thick-headed or stupid person
• PECKERWOODER
n. 1965 Amer. dial. – a woodpecker
• PECKHAM RYE
n. 1925 Brit. rhyming sl. – a tie; later, usually a necktie
vb. 20C rhyming sl. – to tie
• PECKIDGE
n. 17C cant – food; food supply
• PECKISH
adj. 1. 1785 sl. – hungry
adj. 2. 1895 Amer. dial. – short-tempered; easily offended; nagging, hypercritical
• PECK-SAP
n. 1965 Amer. dial. – a middle-aged Black woman
• PECK’S BAD BOY
n. 1883 sl., chiefly US – a mischievous boy
• PECKSNIFFIAN
adj. 1844 – making high pretensions to benevolence and virtue while really mean, selfish, and hypocritical
• PECKWOOD
n. 1885 Amer. dial. – a woodpecker
• PECKY
adj. 1. c1860 colloq. – of the sea: choppy
adj. 2. c1860 colloq. – of a horse: inclined to stumble
adj. 3. 1886 colloq. – of a kiss: like a bird’s peck
adj. 4. 1949 Amer. dial. – short-tempered; easily offended; nagging, hypercritical
adj. 5. 1967 Amer. dial. – tedious, intricate, requiring patience and attention to detail
n. 1969 Amer. dial. – a person who is always finding fault about unimportant things
• PECNOSTER
n. 19C sl. – the penis
• PECULIAR
adj. 1. 1954 sl. – ill
adj. 2. 20C colloq. – mentally deranged
n. L17 colloq. – a mistress
• PECUNE
n. 1819 Amer. dial. – orig. a Spanish half-real; hence, a five-cent piece; five cents
Back to INDEX P
Back to DICTIONARY
Updated: February 27, 2023
Lexicophilia 