English
prang
Pronunciation Noun

prang

  1. (slang, dated) An aeroplane crash.
    • 2011, Bill Marsh, Great South Australia Stories, HarperCollins Publishers, Australia, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=e-_rijbJ0F8C&pg=PT84&dq=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VxzoT8LVF6SPiAfQ-tBa&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22%20australia%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false unnumbered page],
      I remember when a call came through that a crop sprayer had had a plane prang down at Naracoorte, in the south-east of South Australia.
  2. (dated, military slang) A bombing raid.
  3. (chiefly, Australia and New Zealand, UK, informal) An accident involving a motor vehicle, typically minor and without casualties.
    • 1984, Ian Manning, Beyond walking distance: The Gains from Speed in Australian Urban Travel, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=b5XtAAAAMAAJ&q=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=NiboT8K-OIaciAeetYFZ&redir_esc=y page 105],
      The typical prang cost a few hundred dollars in panelbeating charges.
    • 1999, Lydia Laube, Bound for Vietnam, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=PhABBZKptWAC&pg=PA209&dq=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VxzoT8LVF6SPiAfQ-tBa&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22%20australia%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 209],
      If people drove like that in Australia there would be constant prangs.
    • 2009, Bridget Griffen-Foley, Changing Stations: The Story of Australian Commercial Radio, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=WqJAoXpsp5YC&pg=PA90&dq=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VxzoT8LVF6SPiAfQ-tBa&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22%20australia%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 90],
      The drive host, Mark Day, recalls the sinking feeling as he covered an accident on the Tullamarine expressway and wondered what commuters in Sydney would think about hearing all the details of the prang.
  4. (US, slang, uncountable) Crack cocaine.
Synonyms Verb

prang (prangs, present participle pranging; past and past participle pranged)

  1. (slang, dated) To crash an aeroplane.
    • 1946, Frank Clune, Song of India, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=zT4xIKWGOe4C&q=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=NiboT8K-OIaciAeetYFZ&redir_esc=y page 332],
      “We have to wear good socks and boots,” said one pilot with a grin, “—as we often prang in the jungle, and have to walk home.”
  2. (intransitive, chiefly, Australia and New Zealand, UK, informal) To crash; to have an accident while controlling a vehicle.
    • 1958, Nation, Issues 1-33, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=pjtaAAAAYAAJ&q=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kT3oT7X7A-fYigfE_rRa&redir_esc=y page 56],
      “Didn′t bump nobody,” I sneer.
      “That′s because you were careful,” says the wife. “Your forecast doesn′t say you will prang. It merely says ‘exercise care today,’ which you did.”
  3. (transitive, chiefly, Australia and New Zealand, UK, informal) To damage (the vehicle one is driving) in an accident; to have a minor collision with (another motor vehicle).
    • 2004, John Pym (editor), Time Out Film Guide, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=8_j91oFATUoC&q=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ojDoT_2GJoqciAf_3qFZ&redir_esc=y page 70],
      Soon after rescuing some silly children from the local caves, the alien prangs his vessel and dies.
    • 2005, Thomas Marshall, Our Summer in Australia And New Zealand, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=didZE8HS28EC&pg=PA93&dq=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22+australia+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VxzoT8LVF6SPiAfQ-tBa&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false page 93],
      On Friday, I picked up our camper van, upgraded to a four sleeper so Elysee and I could each find a neutral corner, which I managed to “prang,” navigating the parking lot, within one hour of signing away my house as security.
Pronunciation Noun

prang (plural prangs)

  1. (architecture) A type of tower or spire featured in some Buddhist temples of Thailand and Cambodia.
    • 1995, Joshua Eliot, Thailand and Burma Handbook 1996, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=ZIouAQAAIAAJ&q=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zxHoT4G-KsXZigeMysVZ&redir_esc=y page 216],
      The prang is surrounded by walls, which are in turn surrounded by smaller prangs and chedis, some of which are rather precariously supported.
    • 2001, Paul Gray, Lucy Ridout, The Rough Guide to Bangkok, [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=t1YCL2qIDo8C&pg=PA119&dq=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zxHoT4G-KsXZigeMysVZ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22prang%22|%22prangs%22%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 119],
      The second platform surrounds the base of the prang proper, whose closed entranceways are guarded by four statues of the Hindu god Indra on his three-headed elephant Erawan.


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