(South Africa) Cheap wine sold in a bag.
(South Africa) Cheap wine sold in a bag.
‘I wasn't…’ she starts in a voice so little and pathetic, I have to lean in to hear her. Her breath is ripe with cheap papsak.
"papsak" means cheap wine sold in a bag. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
"papsak" means cheap wine sold in a bag. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.
Browse all slang words starting with P.
(Australia, NZ) Wine that is sealed in a plastic bladder and packaged in a cardboard box.
(South Africa) sports bag.
A South African term for child maintenance or child support payments, drawn from Afrikaans. 'Pap' can mean porridge or food in Afrikaans (by extension, sustenance for a child), and 'geld' means money. Used in everyday South African conversation across language groups when discussing family maintenance obligations and court orders.
(South African English) Very raw young wine, usually with sediment.
"papsak" is informal English meaning cheap wine sold in a bag. It is part of South African English. A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "cheap wine sold in a bag" expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "papsak" can replace its standard equivalent in every register; keep it for spoken or casual situations and use the formal form in writing. If you are a B2 or C1 learner, it is useful to recognise this word when you hear or read it, but think carefully about whether the situation really calls for it before using it yourself.
“7. [↑](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tot_System#cite_ref-7)["'Papsak' runs dry"](https://web.archive.org/web/20121020184358/http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/papsak-runs-dry-1.371260). _IOL news_.”
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(New Zealand, South Africa) A liquor store.