piffy on a rock bun

Age and etymology are uncertain; it existed in the 1930s and possibly derives from a music hall catchphrase. Some commentators (e.g. World Wide Words) suggest that piffy may have originally been patience, and the rock bun was simply a type of cake.

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piffy on a rock bun (uncountable)

1. (slang, British, idiomatic) A person ignored or sidelined from an activity

   I hate your work parties: you always talk shop with your mates and leave me sat like piffy on a rock bun.

Common in North-West England, sometimes shortened to just like piffy. It is the Northern equivalent of the Southern like a lemon.

1. • 2006, Val McDermid, chapter 22, in The Grave Tattoo, HarperCollins(mass market paperback edition 2007), page 265:

     "Take a seat, young man, don't be standing there like Piffy."