P.D.Q.

or PDQ

abbreviation for

, Informal.

1. immediately; at once:

   You'd better get started P.D.Q.

pdq

abbreviation for

1. pretty damn quick

Word History and Origins

Origin of P.D.Q.¹

1870–75; p(retty) d(amn) q(uick)

Example Sentences

Dargomyzhsky is known, if known at all outside Russia, for this opera and for PDQ Bach’s 1970 unmissable parody album, “The Stoned Guest.”

From Los Angeles Times

Composer jokes included an arresting scene of this Don writing an aria worthy of PDQ Bach.

From Los Angeles Times

Wolfskill’s Valencia orange was coaxed into sweeter, sturdier qualities, and he and his son were soon shipping it eastward, and pdq, Americans cultivated a costly taste for the exotic harvests of faraway California.

From Los Angeles Times

Seth Kenney, the owner of PDQ Arm & Prop, an Albuquerque company that was the primary supplier of guns to the production, said that he had not modified any of the guns he supplied for “Rust” and had no reason to, because all of them already functioned smoothly.

From New York Times

An affidavit - a written statement of evidence - with the warrant says police were told ammunition for the film had come from several sources, including PDQ Arm & Prop.

From BBC

Related Words

• directly
• forthwith
• instantly
• promptly
• rapidly
• shortly
• soon
• urgently