ppp.

n.  a French expression (usually accompanied by a shrug) meaning “beats me,” as discussed in Street French Slang Dictionary & Thesaurus by David Burke.


n.  a sound made by a computer modem (Linux Format Magazine).


n.  the sound of the letter p, as described in “Beginning Reading Design” by Valerie Lunceford; see also pppp.

ppp-fzzz.

n.  the “weak fizzing sound” of a machine gun “out of propulsion gas,” as in the novel Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly.

ppphbbffft.

n.  the sound of spitting out a beverage in disgust, as in the comic “Avalon, March 24, 2000” by Josh Phillips.

pppp.

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

<In the Buenos Aires performance [of Verdi’s Otello, Mario] del Monaco ignores the composer’s repeated directives that Otello sing quite softly (the monologue begins with a “pppp” marking).  Here, the tenor portrays Otello’s inner grief over Desdemona’s supposed adultery with stentorian tones, frequently straying from Verdi’s specified pitches, opting instead for sprechstimme, replete with sobs at almost every turn.  As a result, this performance, as thrilling as it is, gives little sense of Verdi’s inexorable musical and emotional crescendo.  —Kenneth Meltzer, ClassicalCDReview.com.>

- END OF PREVIEW - To read more, see the "Search Inside" feature at Amazon.com