Australian slang starting with P

170 Aussie words and phrases beginning with P. Page 1 of 2: from P-plates to postie bike.

• P-platesThe red or green plates bearing a 'P' that must be shown on a car driven by a provisional licence holder; by…
• pack a sadTo sulk or go into a bad mood.
• packing itVery frightened or nervous.
• padA narrow track or path worn by animals, especially cattle or sheep, through the bush or across a paddock.
• PaddoPaddington, the inner-eastern Sydney suburb known for its terraces and markets; also used for Paddington in…
• paddockA fenced area of land on a farm or station, of any size from a small yard to thousands of hectares. A sports…
• paddock-basherAn old car or ute, often unregistered, kept for driving around a farm's paddocks.
• pademelonA small, stocky wallaby of forests and scrub in eastern Australia. (usually 'paddy melon') A weedy wild…
• pakapoo ticketSomething messy, confusing or illegible, usually in the phrase 'like a pakapoo ticket'.
• panel beaterA tradesperson who repairs the bodywork of damaged cars, or the workshop where this is done.
• panel vanA van built on a car body, with no rear side windows, popular with surfers and young men in the 1970s and…
• panic merchantA person who panics or gets flustered easily.
• pannikinA small metal drinking mug, especially one used for tea in the bush.
• pannikin bossA minor boss or overseer with little real authority, especially a self-important one.
• pants manA womaniser; a man always chasing women.
• paper-yabberA letter or written message, a term recorded in colonial Aboriginal English.
• paperbarkAny of several Australian trees, mostly melaleucas, with pale, papery bark that peels off in layers.
• pardaloteA tiny, short-tailed Australian bird, often brightly spotted, that feeds on insects in the tops of eucalypts.
• Paris endThe smartest, most fashionable end of a street or town. The original is the tree-lined eastern end of…
• parkieA park keeper or park ranger. A homeless person, often a heavy drinker, who spends time or sleeps in public…
• parmaA chicken parmigiana, a crumbed chicken schnitzel topped with tomato sauce and cheese, a pub staple.
• paroVery drunk.
• ParraParramatta, the city and suburb in Sydney's west; also the Parramatta Eels rugby league team.
• party pieA small, bite-sized meat pie, a staple of kids' birthday parties and footy functions.
• party roomThe members of a parliamentary party meeting together, where leadership votes and policy positions are…
• pashTo kiss passionately. Also used as a noun: a passionate kiss.
• pash rashA red rash around the mouth or chin from a long kissing session, usually caused by stubble.
• pass inOf a property or item at auction, to be withdrawn unsold because bidding did not reach the reserve price.
• pastoral leaseA lease of Crown land granted for grazing livestock, the usual form of tenure for outback stations.
• pastoralistA person who runs sheep or cattle on a large scale, especially on a big station.
• Paterson's curseA purple-flowered weed of pasture land, poisonous to some stock, that spreads over large areas of southern…
• pavA pavlova, a meringue dessert topped with cream and fruit.
• pawpawThe papaya, a tropical fruit with orange flesh and black seeds.
• pay out onTo criticise, tease or make fun of someone.
• PBSThe Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, under which the federal government subsidises the cost of prescription…
• peaThe favourite or most likely winner, originally of a horse race; usually 'the pea'.
• pea-struckOf livestock, especially horses, poisoned and staggering from eating Darling pea or a similar poisonous plant.
• peacockingIn 19th-century land settlement, the practice of buying up the choicest parts of a run, such as water…
• peak hourThe busiest time of day for traffic and public transport, when people travel to and from work.
• pearlerSomething or someone excellent; a beauty.
• pebblecreteConcrete finished with a surface of exposed pebbles, used for paths, driveways and pool surrounds.
• peeweeThe magpie-lark, a common black-and-white Australian bird, named for its call.
• penalty ratesHigher rates of pay that award workers receive for working weekends, public holidays, nights or overtime.
• penner-upA shed hand who keeps the shearers' catching pens filled with sheep.
• PentonvillainA convict from Pentonville prison in London sent to the Australian colonies in the 1840s as an 'exile' on a…
• perentieAustralia's largest lizard, a goanna of the arid inland that can grow to over two metres long.
• pervTo look at someone with lustful interest, often 'perv on'. As a noun, a lustful look ('have a perv') or a…
• peterA cash register or till. A prison cell. Dated.
• physiePhysical culture: a style of exercise combining callisthenics, dance and posture work, taught to girls and…
• piccoloA small coffee made with a single shot of espresso, usually ristretto, topped with steamed milk in a small…
• pick the eyes out ofTo take the best parts of something, leaving the rest.
• picnic racesA country horse-race meeting run by amateurs, as much a social occasion as a sporting one.
• pie-eaterA person of little importance; a small-timer.
• pie floaterA meat pie served sitting in a bowl of thick pea soup, usually topped with tomato sauce; an Adelaide…
• PiesThe Collingwood Football Club in the AFL, or its players and supporters.
• pig dogA dog, usually a large crossbreed, bred and used for hunting feral pigs.
• pig-rootOf a horse, to buck with its head down while kicking out with its hind legs.
• pigfaceA succulent ground-covering plant of coastal dunes and dry country, with bright pink or purple flowers and…
• pikeletA small, thick pancake, usually eaten cold with jam and cream or butter.
• pikerSomeone who backs out of something, leaves a party early, or won't join in.
• pilchersWaterproof pants pulled on over a baby's nappy.
• pillThe football, in Australian rules or rugby league commentary and talk.
• pilot coveA clergyman or minister.
• pimpA telltale or informer, someone who dobs on others. Also used as a verb, to tell tales.
• PinchgutThe small island in Sydney Harbour on which Fort Denison was built.
• pindanThe red, sandy soil and low acacia scrub country of the Kimberley and nearby parts of north-western Australia.
• pineappleA fifty-dollar note.
• pingTo catch someone out or penalise them for an offence, as when an umpire awards a free kick against a player…
• pingerAn ecstasy pill; to be 'pinging' is to be high on ecstasy.
• pink heathA small shrub of south-eastern Australia with tubular pink, red or white flowers, the floral emblem of…
• pink slipIn New South Wales, a vehicle safety inspection report needed before registration can be renewed.
• pinkieA young or small snapper.
• pintIn South Australia, a beer glass of 425 ml, the size called a schooner in most other states; elsewhere a…
• pipiAn edible, smooth wedge-shaped shellfish found in the sand of surf beaches, eaten or used as bait.
• piss in someone's pocket vulgarTo flatter or suck up to someone; of two people, 'pissing in each other's pockets' means being very thick…
• piss-weak vulgarFeeble, pathetic or contemptibly poor; of a drink, watery.
• pisspot vulgarA heavy drinker; a drunkard.
• Pitt Street farmerA city businessman who owns a farm, often as a tax write-off, without working it himself.
• pituriA shrub of inland Australia whose nicotine-rich leaves were chewed as a stimulant by Aboriginal people and…
• placegetterA competitor, team or horse finishing in a place, usually second or third.
• plain turkeyThe Australian bustard, a large ground-dwelling bird of open country. Dated.
• plantIn the bush, a droving or travelling outfit: the horses, gear and stores of a team. Dated. A hidden stash of…
• platypusA semi-aquatic, egg-laying Australian mammal with a duck-like bill, webbed feet and a broad tail.
• playing handiesHolding hands, as courting couples do.
• please explainA demand for an explanation; also a formal request for one, as in 'he got a please explain from head office'.
• plonkCheap wine.
• plonkoA heavy drinker of cheap wine; an alcoholic down-and-out.
• ploverIn Australia, the masked lapwing, a common bird of paddocks, parks and sports ovals with a yellow facial…
• pluggersIn Queensland, thongs (rubber flip-flop sandals).
• plumboA plumber.
• Pluto pupA frankfurt dipped in batter, deep-fried and served on a stick, usually with tomato sauce; known as a…
• PMGThe Postmaster-General's Department, which ran postal and telephone services in Australia until 1975. Dated.
• pobblebonkThe eastern banjo frog, a burrowing frog of south-eastern Australia with a loud, plucked 'bonk' call.
• pocketIn Australian rules football, either of the positions at each end of the ground beside the goal squares…
• poddyA young calf or lamb being hand-fed, especially one taken from or lost by its mother; also as an adjective…
• poddy-dodgerA cattle thief who steals unbranded calves and puts his own brand on them.
• point Percy at the porcelainOf a man, to urinate.
• point the boneTo blame or accuse someone; to single someone out as the guilty party.
• pointy endThe decisive or most important stage of something, especially the finals end of a sporting season.
• poisonerA jocular name for a cook, especially on a station, in a shearing shed or with a droving team. Dated.
• poke mullock atTo ridicule or make fun of someone. Dated.
• pokiesPoker machines; electronic gambling machines in pubs and clubs.
• pole onTo sponge on someone or take advantage of their good nature; to not pull your weight. Doing so is 'poling'.
• poleyOf cattle, hornless; also of a saddle, having no knee pads.
• pollieA politician.
• polonyIn Western Australia, the usual name for the large, mild processed luncheon sausage called devon in New…
• pommy derogatoryAn English person. Usually jocular, sometimes mildly derogatory. Also used as an adjective.
• pongo derogatoryAn Englishman, especially an English soldier.
• ponyA small beer glass, traditionally holding about 140 ml (five fluid ounces).
• poofteenthA very small amount or distance; a fraction.
• poor as a bandicootExtremely poor.
• popperA small cardboard carton of fruit juice with a straw attached, a lunchbox staple.
• portIn Queensland and northern New South Wales, a suitcase, travelling bag or school bag.
• Port Jackson sharkA harmless bottom-dwelling shark of southern Australian waters, with a blunt head, harness-like dark…
• possieA position or place, especially a good spot to sit or watch from.
• possumA tree-dwelling Australian marsupial, such as the brushtail or ringtail possum. A term of endearment. To…
• post and railsRough bush tea with the stalks and leaves floating on top. Dated.
• posterIn Australian football, a kick at goal that hits the goalpost, scoring only a behind.
• postieA postal worker who delivers the mail.
• postie bikeA small motorcycle of the kind used by Australia Post to deliver mail, or an ex-fleet one sold to the public.