A friend mentioned her British girlfriend talking about drinking and "perving around the pool." What are the possible meanings for this? I gather from my friend's story that this Brit wasn't a pervert, as the word might imply, but was it an ironic usage? Anyone from the U.K. want to chime in?
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3 Answers
It's not perving around, just perving, but it's an activity that, like drinking, might well take place around a pool.
It is related to pervert, but used in a self-deprecating way - your friend just means enjoying the sight of attractive bodies on display. A synonym would be leching (from "lechery", again a self-deprecating use of a term with stronger connotations).
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@MT_Head: You're right, that is the standard English word. But I've heard "oogling" (and indeed "oggling") plenty of times in the UK too :)– psmearsCommented Jun 8, 2011 at 9:41
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I don't usually make spelling corrections; I just wanted to clarify that it's a "real" word, rather than a slang term (if you Google "oogle", you get sent to Urban Dictionary - ewww.) Interestingly, the derivation of "ogle" seems to be from... "oog". Go figure.– MT_HeadCommented Jun 8, 2011 at 17:15
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@MT_Head: Sure... and ogle->oogling matches the theme of pervert->perving and lecher->leching i.e. forming slang words for this meaning from modifications of "real" ones :)– psmearsCommented Jun 8, 2011 at 17:19
There's an exact old word equivalent to "perving" which is still in use in the East Midlands. When someone is peeping slyly, he is said to be "chiking",and is called a "chiker".
That is a long "i" sound, and the word is probably better represented "ch-eye-ker" for pronunciation. The spelling I give is from printed usage I have seen. There is a short story by Alan Sillitoe, titled "The Chiker".
If she is from Liverpool then it basically means a night out in Liverpool; if I extend it from drinking (obvious) to perving (looking for a S one H night A stand G) in 'the pool' (that's how Scouses refer to Liverpool) or just having a drink and perving (looking for C a L suitable U partner N to G love E) around a swimming pool.
