Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to waste time, to mess about.

1933		W.R. Burnett Dark Hazard (1934) 159: One minute you were piddling along, winning a little, losing a little; then suddenly something hit you; you were a different man; your ‘luck was in’.
1943		P. Larkin letter 13 Aug. in Thwaite Sel. Letters (1992) 62: I piss about spending money.
1966		T. Keyes All Night Stand 53: We laughed at him and told him to stop pissing about.
1975		A. Bleasdale Scully 56: Y’d better be up early in the mornin’. No pissin’ about meetin’ me half way through.
1985		‘Thommo’ Dict. Aus. Swearing & Sex Sayings 95: PISS ABOUT — Frivolous, pointless actions similar to fuck around.
1986		L. Heinemann Paco’s Story (1987) 43: You just want some fucking excuse to go to town and piss around at Rita’s.
1989		(con. 1950s–60s) in G. Tremlett Little Legs 115: He was a good fence. Never pissed about.
1997		N. Barlay Curvy Lovebox 147: You think I’m pissin’ about don’t ya.
1998		P. Doyle (con. late 1950s) Amaze Your Friends (2019) 119: The work party would [...] walk out to the vegie patch and piss around for three or four hours.
2000		Guardian Weekend 22 Jan. 35: Kevin Spacey likes to joke and piss about.
2010		K. Richards Life 90: Suddenly you’re in with the big boys, you’re not just pissing around in school gymns.
2012		J. Fagan Panopticon (2013) 171: This pissing around is stupid.

2. to wander, to go.

1943

‘Henry Green’ Caught (2001) 79: For Christ’s sake piddle off out of it.

3. to irritate or tease someone.

1978		P. Marsh et al. Rules of Disorder 69: If you live up on the leys then you have to fight or else people piss you about and think you’re a bit soft or something .
1989		M. Dibdin Tryst 34: One thing I can’t stand is people, people pissing me around.
1997		Fraser & Meadows TwentyFourSeven [film script] (1998) 51: Only pissing around, lads.
2000		M. Dibdin Thanksgiving 33: I was just pissing around at first, seeing how it worked.
2000		J. Hawes Dead Long Enough 10: All arranged nicely so that Harry MacDonald can piss ironically about with them in that disarming way he has.
2012		D. O’Donnell Locked Ward (2013) 275: Fuck that bitch. She’s only pissin’ me around.