perv, v. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

perv v.

also perve

(orig. Aus./N.Z.)

1. to make (unwanted) sexual advances, esp. used of child-molesters.

1941		Baker Popular Dict. Aus. Sl. 53: Perve, to, to act as a sexual pervert.
1950		West Australian (Perth) 30 May 1/6: I killed her. I was on the beach and I tried to perve her. She would not let me. I had my hands around her throat.
1964		B. Hesling Dinkumization or Depommification 116: ‘What did they get you for, perving?’ ‘Soliciting.’.

2. to stare at, to watch, usu. in a prurient manner.

1950		Mirror (Perth) 11 Mar. 15/3: Perv-view! A pretty girl, wearing a scanty, shoulderless, silk nightie, caused a traffic jam in West Berlin’s main shopping street. Police had to move the crowds — mostly men — from the shop window where the nightie was on show.
1959		implied in perv at
1962		‘David Forrest’ Hollow Woodheap 153: He had [...] sunglasses on, through which he was making a careful inventory of every bikini-clad female [...] ‘Well,’ said Paddy reasonably, ‘if you’re going to perv, you might as well be honest about it.’.
1968		D. Ireland Chantic Bird 59: She only took half an hour over that bath, with me up there perving like mad.
1986		C. Bowles G’DAY 31: Blokes, go down the beach to perve at the talent. This is normally a furtive affair, unless three or more blokes are involved, in which case checking out the tarts can be a very noisy occupation.
1993		T. Winton Lockie Leonard: Scumbuster (1995) 79: Lockie turned his head politely as Dot pulled off her wetsuit and dried off her speedos with a towel. Well, he peeked. Perved, really.
2000		P. Temple Dead Point (2008) [ebook] He’s on the net perving at this bondage porn.
2007		J. Stahl ‘Pure’ in Love Without 169: I am standing here perving on a moth.
2009		R. Milward Ten Storey Love Song 9: [H]e’s got a ‘partner’ but he still enjoys perving on Georgie.
2009		T. Black Gutted 138: The barmaid looked about eighteen, an age group I’d been paying a lot of attention to these days. Not perving, far from it.
2010		L. Redhead Thrill City [ebook] No bloke wants to think of other men perving on his chick.
2012		A. Nette ‘Chasing Atlantis’ in Crime Factory: Hard Labour [ebook] Perving on Cornelius’ wife had been one of the few pleasures of Chance’s time in New Atlantis.
2016		A. Wheatle Crongton Knights 19: ‘You wanna keep that tongue on lockdown before the feds arrest your ass for perving’.
2017		L. McInerney Blood Miracles 107: ‘Ah, d’you mind not fucking perving on me, like?’.
2021		L. McInerney Rules of Revelation 116: She and her friends would joke about perving on boys.

3. to read or watch pornography.

1944

L. Glassop We Were the Rats 157: Eddie was sitting on his blankets, leaning against the wall and doing, as the boys expressed it, ‘a bit of perving’. He was looking at his gallery of nudes and semi-nudes.

4. to act in an effeminate/homosexual manner.

1945

Baker Aus. Lang. 123: An effeminate is said to have fairies at the bottom of his garden and to perve.

In phrases

perv about (v.) (also perve about) [the use is facetious rather than an actual ref. to any sexual eccentricity]

(orig. Aus.) to search for potential sexual conquests.

2004

www.20six.co.uk 6 Oct. 🌐 It’s not as if you nearly definitely have child porn on your PC and perve about everywhere.

perv at (v.) (also perve at)

to stare at, to watch, usu. in a prurient manner.

1959		Baker Drum 134: To perve at (a girl), to extract pleasure from looking at her, esp. if she is scantily dressed as on a beach.
1972		M. Wilding Aspects of the Dying Process 108: It must be perving at all those students all day makes you look old.
1982		H. Beaton Outside In I ii: You never do get used to the screws pervin’ at you, do you, Ma?
2003		B. Thacker Planes, Trains and Elephants 18: Sleazy wanted to perve at as many women sitting on as many beaches as he could find.
2005		J. Blue Blue Riders’ Club 87: Don’t get caught perving at a girl’s tits when you are talking to her.
2018		C. Hammer Scrublands [ebook] ‘Stop perving at her [...] and give the girl a chance’.

perved-out

sexually perverse.

2023

(con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 329: Sid, you perved-out piece of — .

perv on (v.) (also perve on)

to stare at, to watch, usu. in a prurient manner.

1966		Baker Aus. Lang. (2nd edn) 154: Perve on, to contemplate with erotic interest.
1972		J. O’Grady It’s Your Shout, Mate! 42: There were three men [...] ‘Pervin’ on old Chloe, eh?’ one said.
1986		J. Ellroy Suicide Hill 139: ‘There’s these three guys perving on women and taking out banks’.
1992		R.G. Barrett White Shoes 27: The two executives had finished perving on the girls.
2005		M.B. ‘Chopper’ Read Chopper 4 144: I have become sick and tired of [...] other inmates perving on pictures of some of my good friends who happen to be female.
2023		(con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 178: Who’d the nut perv on?