pash - a kiss and cuddle; amorous play: e.g., I saw them having a pash in the back seat of the car.

pash on - to cuddle and kiss; indulge in intimate behaviour.

pasho session - intimate behaviour: e.g., Mum caught them having a pasho session when she came home earlier than expected.

paspalum - Paspalum dilatum, a creeping tussock grass, with a spreading open shape. Leaves are bright green, folded in bud and flat and about 1cm wide when mature. Long stems bear nodding seed heads which produce sticky disc shaped seeds. It quickly became naturalised on scrub soils receiving over 900mm rainfall, and colonised the moister valley bottoms in drier regions. Paspalum once formed the basis of much dairying development in New South Wales and Queensland. Grows in wet areas in pasture, also on wetter parts of road verges. A major weed of wetland edges and wet native grasslands. Most of the "wet meadows" which must once have been common on the south coast have been destroyed by invasion of paspalum, Yorkshire fog and other moisture-loving exotic grasses. Seed is spread by sticking to animals, clothing, machinery and vehicles, and in water. The basal parts of the tussock may be broken up and spread in earth-moving or cultivation.

pass in (one's) marble - 1. to die. 2. to give up.

pass the pinch test - show that one is not over-weight by not being able to pinch a large amount of flesh between the thumb and forefinger at the waist.

pass with a push - be accepted grudgingly.

passbook - a book issued by a bank or building society etc to an account-holder recording sums deposited and withdrawn.

passion pit - drive-in theatre or cinema.

paste - scold, berate, beat or defeat soundly.

pasting - severe criticism, scolding, beating or defeat.

pastoral - 1. of, relating to, or associated with shepherds or flocks and herds. 2. (of land) used for pasture.

pastoral company - a commercial enterprise engaged in large-scale stock-raising.

pastoral holding - pasture land that is either held by lease, or owned by a person or company.

pastoral lease - a particular type of leasehold that allows Crown land to be used for grazing stock. The Crown retains the right to the compulsory purchase of any part of the lease for purposes such as state improvement or settlement. When a pastoral lease expires or is otherwise terminated, the reversionary interest remains a radical title, which is not inconsistent with the continued existence of native title. A pastoral lease is a statutory grant of Crown land, and as such it is affected under land laws existing at the time of any particular grant. The system under which pastoral leases were granted prior to the Mabo decision was established last century, and there are many different types of pastoral and agricultural leases across Australia. The effect of each type of lease on native title needs to be examined on a case-by-case basis. The pastoral lease is the most common form of Crown land, covering some 70% of Australia.

pastoral license - (see: pastoral lease).

pastoral property - a stock-raising establishment.

pastoral run - in Australia and New Zealand, a tract of land for grazing livestock. The term comes from the English verb 'run' meaning "to set animals loose on a field or tract of land so as to graze freely". The term came into common usage following the Lands Acts of 1861, when land grants were abolished and eligibility to purchase land was extended to everyone in the state of NSW. Large squatter’s stations were broken into smaller tracts and offered at auction. The smaller holding quickly became known as a 'run'.

pastoralism - a way of life characterised by keeping herds of animals, common in climates or regions not suitable for agriculture.

pastoralist - a farmer of sheep or cattle, usually on a large scale; a rancher.

pasturage - 1. land for pasture. 2. the process of pasturing cattle etc.

pastureland - (see: pasturage).

Pat Malone - (rhyming slang) alone: e.g., He always drinks on his Pat Malone because he's too stingy to shout a round.

Patagonean toothfish - Dissostichus eleginoides, a large, slender fish found in the cold, deep waters (up to 3200 feet) of the Southern Hemisphere. The average weight of a commercially caught toothfish is 20 pounds, though fully-grown adults can reach 250 pounds. It is a slow-growing and long-lived fish, reaching maturity between 10 to 12 years and can live to be 50 years. Little else is known about the toothfish beyond these basics. The commercial fishery for Patagonian toothfish came about as a substitute for overfished species, such as orange roughy.The modern story of the Patagonian toothfish is the current environmental disaster in the Southern Ocean. Patagonian toothfish is being harvested illegally at a rate two to five times the legal catch limits. Regulation is difficult at best. The main importers of Patagonian toothfish are Japan and the USA, where a single sashimi-grade fish can fetch up to US$1000. Pirate fishing and black markets thrive.

Paterson, A B "Banjo" - poet, journalist, lawyer, jockey, soldier, farmer - is one of the best-loved figures of Australian literature. He wrote "Waltzing Matilda", "The Man from Snowy River", "Clancy of the Overflow" and many other poems. He reported the Boer War, and he served in and reported on WW I. bush balladeer, poet and journalist. His folk, or bush, poems and songs celebrated the life of stockmen, swaggies and squatters, and recording the emergence of a national character which was anti-authoritarian, self-reliant, and strongly connected to the land they worked and loved.

patty tin - miniature muffin pan.

pav - pavlova.

pavlova - a large, soft-centred meringue filled with whipped cream and fruit. In 1935, the chef of the Hotel Esplanade in Perth, Western Australia, Herbert Sachse, created the pavlova to celebrate the visit of the great Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova. Whilst it has been suggested this dessert was created in New Zealand, it has become recognized as a popular Australian dish.

pawpaw - papaya.

pay a visit - go to the toilet.

pay on the line - pay promptly without delay.

pay scot and lot - share the financial burdens of a borough etc (and so be allowed to vote).

pay (someone) in his own coin - treat (someone) likewise, the same as (he) treated you.

pay the piper and call the tune - pay for, and therefore have control over, a proceeding.

pay-packet - a packet or envelope containing an employee's wages.

paycheque - British spelling of paycheck.

PAYE - pay-as-you-earn, the federal income tax system, deducted from each paycheque.

PBC - (see: prescribed body corporate).

pea-struck - (see: swainsonine).

peaceful dove - Geopelia placida, a small, grey, woodland dove common in open woodland throughout central Cape York Peninsula. They feed on grass seeds, preferring to forage on bare ground or in short grass, scurrying about with rodent-like movement. Unlike other doves, they forage alone or in pairs. Their coloration camouflages them wonderfully against the ground. They are shy and fly off into nearby undergrowth at the first sign of danger, nevertheless appear to prefer open areas, including cultivated parks, gardens and urban areas. They are also found in mangroves. Peaceful dove males have a courtship display of brisk bobbing with head down and tail up while loudly calling. They do this on a high perch, facing the female. As the pair sit side-by-side, he may sing. Like other pigeons, the peaceful dove nest is a flimsy platform of twigs and fibres, usually in a small tree, palm and sometimes in a bush; 1-2 white eggs are laid. Although peaceful doves may disperse widely to look for food or escape harassment, they are not migratory. Also known as zebra dove, barred ground dove.

peachy - delightful; wonderful; excellent.

peacocking - (hist.) the application for colonial grants for small parcels which contained the only potable water in the region. This would then mean settlers would be able to control huge acreages, as no-one else would be able to settle in the surrounding region because of water scarcity. If a settler took up a long narrow land grant along a river, no-one else would be able to take up land behind that grant, not being able to get access.

peanut factory - mental asylum.

peanut paste - peanut butter.

peanut tree - Sterculia quadrifida, a deciduous tree to 12m, found around the edges of monsoon vine forests and in coastal areas across northern Australia. The black seeds are held in a red fruit and when ripe are exposed, to attract birds. The seeds are very tasty and are often produced in large numbers. Fruit are produced for a long period between the late wet season, through the dry season and into the early wet season. These are peeled and eaten raw; they have a similar taste to peanuts. The bark is used to make string and rope for various uses. The taproot of young plants is also edible, and it has several medicinal uses. Leaves may be used to treat marine and insect stings. A bark infusion is used to treat eye disorders.

pear drop - a small sweet with the shape of a pear.

pear-fruited mallee - Eucalyptus pyriformis, a tree-like flowering mallee eucalypt, 6'- 18' with small, profuse, cream (or red) flowers. Tolerates light or heavy clay soils. Moderately drought tolerant and hardy to most frosts. Fast growing. Flowers and fruit are suitable as cut flowers.  Collector's item. Good performance in dry or sandy soil. Endemic to Western Australia

.pear-shaped - something's gone wrong; e.g., Oh, no, our plans have gone all pear-shaped!

Pearce, Alexander - transported to Sarah Island in 1822. A month later, he escaped with four other convicts. The party headed overland to Hobart. After 15 days without food, they decided to experiment with cannibalism. The men drew straws and it was Thomas Bodenham who drew the short one. He knelt down, was killed by a blow to the head and subsequently served up for lunch. A week later, John Mather was foraging for roots when, determined to eat him, the other three ganged up and killed him. Four days later, Travis was bitten by a snake and subsequently was on the menu. This left only Pearce and Greenhill. For a few days, each eyed the other suspiciously but vowed not to betray the other. Pearce thought Greenhill was lying and so killed him in the dead of night. Out of character for Pearce, he left the body untouched. In 1823, Pearce was recaptured and confessed to his crimes. Such was the fanciful nature of his story, no-one believed him and so he was sent back to Sarah Island. Nine months later, he again escaped and for provisions he took with him Thomas Cox. A few weeks after escaping, a passing ship saw smoke and Pearce was found. He again confessed to his crimes and even had a morsel of Cox to verify his story. Pearce was taken back to Hobart and hanged on the 19th July 1824, the judge at his trial declaring that the case was 'too inhuman to comment on'. Also known as 'Alexander the Cannibal'.

pearl/pearler - excellent, wonderful, delightful person or thing.

pearl perch - Glaucosoma scapulare can be easily recognised by the bone that projects as a blue-black-to grey bony shield from under the upper operculum. If the thin layer of skin covering is removed, the pearly-white bone - the origin of the common name - is revealed. The pearl perch has a robust body, a large mouth and a second dorsal fin which is higher than the first. The body is silvery to grey, and each scale has a small golden brown spot. There is a dark spot at the base of the last dorsal fin rays. A brown line passes diagonally through the eye of juveniles. This species lives in coastal waters to depths of 90m. It is endemic to (only occurs in) Australia, from the central coast of Queensland to the central New South Wales coast. It grows to 70cm in length.

pearling industry - in 1860 the first settlers came to the North West and struggled to make a living from sheep. They faced drought, dingos and sometimes hostile Aborigines. Most quickly found that there was more money to be made in the pearling industry. The first tonne of pinctada shell paid for a vessel. Ten tonnes of shell a season was then collected by divers and any pearls found w