pppp.

n.  the sound of the letter p, as described in The Voice That Means Business: How to Speak With Authority, Confidence and Credibility Anytime, Anywhere by Linda Shields; see also ppp.

<Where’s the pppp sound in computer?  —Peggy Kaye, Games for Learning: Ten Minutes a Day to Help Your Child Do Well in School, from Kindergarten to Third Grade.>

pppp dddd.

n.  an incoherent expression meaning one is feeling overheated and scared, as in the story “Waking Nightmares” by Ingrid Blythe Atkinson.

ppppp.

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

<A “crescendo” is not a peak of sound, or a sudden outburst, but a gradual increase in volume.  Loudness is not even necessarily implied; Tchaikovsky, for example, goes so far as to indicate a crescendo from ppppp to pppp.  —William Safire, The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time: Wit and Wisdom from the Popular Language Column in the New York Times Magazine.>

n.  the popping of popcorn, as described in Tongue Tie—From Confusion to Clarity: A Guide to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Ankyloglossia by Carmen Fernando.

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