The -P convention

Soundalike Slang | Jargon Construction | Overgeneralization

#### The `-P' convention

Turning a word into a question by appending the syllable `P'; from the LISP convention of appending the letter `P' to denote a predicate (a boolean-valued function). The question should expect a yes/no answer, though it needn't. (See T and NIL.)

        At dinnertime:

              Q: ``Foodp?''

              A: ``Yeah, I'm pretty hungry.'' or ``T!''

        At any time:

              Q: ``State-of-the-world-P?''

              A: (Straight) ``I'm about to go home.''

              A: (Humorous) ``Yes, the world has a state.''

        On the phone to Florida:

              Q: ``State-p Florida?''

              A: ``Been reading JARGON.TXT again, eh?''

[One of the best of these is a Gosperism. Once, when we were at a Chinese restaurant, Bill Gosper wanted to know whether someone would like to share with him a two-person-sized bowl of soup. His inquiry was: "Split-p soup?" -- GLS]

Soundalike Slang | Jargon Construction | Overgeneralization