Pronounced "Pee Yew" and also spelled "P U" or spelled out "Pfew!", "Phew!," or "Pee-yew!" this aging
American interjection, often accompanied with a pinched
nose or similar disgusted gesture, indicates the existence of a foul or overpowering odor. Its use seems to have peaked in the mid-Twentieth Century as a
semi-euphemism for olfactory revulsion, but is still occasionally used today.
Betty: Archie, what happened to you? P U! (Waves hand in front of face)
Archie (red-faced): I fell in a pickle barrel at the grocery store.
- - -
Sweet Dee Reynolds (in TV show "It's Always
Sunny in
Philadelphia," ca. 2010): Moms stink! P.U.!!
(episode "Frank Reynolds' Little Beauties,"
September 29, 2011)