PDQ

adverb

ˌpē-(ˌ)dē-ˈkyü 

variants or less commonly pdq

informal

: as quickly as possible : immediately

Like a great many of my generation, I'm sorry that I never asked my grandfather about his experiences of fighting in World War I—though I suspect that like so many of his generation, he would have changed the subject PDQ.

—Tom Utley

He needed to get back to the hospital pdq, he said.

—Bob Levey

Synonyms

• bang
• directly
• forthwith
• headlong
• immediately
• incontinently
• instantaneously
• instanter
• instantly
• now
• plumb
• presently
• promptly
• pronto
• right
• right away
• right now
• right off
• straight off
• straightaway
• straightway

Examples of PDQ in a Sentence

We need to hire someone PDQ.

the boss wants the report, and he wants it PDQ

Word History

Etymology

abbreviation of pretty damned quick

First Known Use

circa 1875, in the meaning defined above