pp.

adj.  pianissimo (a musician’s directive to perform a passage very softly).


n.  the sound of a needle piercing a vein, as in Baby Driver by Jan Kerouac.

PPBBWRR.

n.  the warning buzz of a housefly.

<It bounced off the wall, then spiraled upward.  As it neared the flypaper, the bluebottle buzzed once more: PPBBWRR—.  A warning, ‘BeWaRe!’” —Peter Spielberg, Hearsay.>

ppffft.

interj.  a dismissive sound.

<Mrs. Morgan, who ran the Mom and Pop grocery store of my youth, told me she listened to radio soap operas “to learn about life.”  I was impressed and went home to recommend that my mother follow her example—to which my mother wisely replied, “ppffft.”  And she was right.  —John D. Husband, Single Over Thirty.>

interj.  an expression of ridicule.

<Kiki made a “ppffft” sound, then gave Hannah a withering stare.  “Is itty bitty Hannah scared?  Afraid the big bad policeman will slap her hand?”  —Annie Griffin, Tall, Dead and Handsome.>

n.  the sound of someone spitting out her drink upon being surprised by emotional news, as in the comic strip “PvP” by Scott R. Kurtz.

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