Green’s Dictionary of Slang

p.h.d. phr.

[petticoat hanging down]

(US) a warning to a woman that her slip is showing.

[US]Indiana Eve. Gazette 20 Mar. 9/2: One [girl] warns another of dangling slip by some mention of a Ph.D. degree. ‘Ph.D.’ seems to stand for ‘petticoat hanging down.’.