Questions tagged [interjections]
Words such as "oh", or "wow", which are used to indicate an isolated emotion on the part of the speaker, without an explicit grammatical relationship to the rest of the sentence.
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Origin of "guy" as an interjection substituting for "gosh" or "golly"?
Is anyone familiar with, or know the origin of, the use of "guy" as an interjection at the beginning of a sentence, as a substitute for "gosh!" or "golly!" (or "God"?) ?
For example:
"Guy, Holl, ...
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use of the interjection "but lo' ..."
In an article I tried to understand (the german understanding) of:
(...) we’re outside the part of C where the standard Dirichlet series actually converges. But lo’ we can ask what’s the ...
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What's the name of the figure of speech where a person departs from the main stream of thought for the purpose of explanation or added information?
What is a departure from the main stream of thought for the purpose of explanation or added information? Is it called an interjection?
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Trailing interjection? "So, I'll just take that, then" Is the "then" now? Should it be "than" because I'm taking it rather than you?
This question Are constructions like "That's me out, then" primarily British rather than American? is more about "that's"
This question's answers When a person replies with a ...
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Are the origins of ¡ay, güey! and 'oy vey' related at all? [closed]
Though both of these terms come from other languages, they are both said in English, depending on where one is. One (ay wey as a more English form) can mean holy crap!, and the other can mean ...
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What is the origin of the expletive "man alive!"?
There are various speculations about its origins: its being a euphemism for 'Good Lord' or a simplification of 'any living man' or again a shortened 'no matter – man alive!' (Thomas Hood 1845)
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Interjection for a longing sigh
Is there an injection or at least an onomatopoeia for a longing sigh that works in writing?
An example would be two colleagues are talking about the new member of the team on which one has a huge ...
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Do interjections like “but hey” have commas between them?
It seems like the correct spelling is “but, hey,” however, especially when followed by a clause, the pauses (perhaps) become excessive and the comma is frequently dropped.
For example: “But hey, at ...
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'What ho!' of Bertie Wooster
"What ho!" - this strange form of greeting is used all the time by Bertie Wooster, a character of well-known "Jeeves and Wooster" stories by P. G. Wodehouse.
Bertie Wooster: Oh, what ho, Sir ...
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"Why" in a non-question sentence
I am reading a book and I am finding this kind of expressions:
'Why, people in perfect health act in the same way too,'
'Why, are you all afraid of me?'
'What nonsense he is talking! Why, you are ...
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What do you call a word that follows a punchline or a practical joke and is used to emphasize it?
Popular culture often has people use a specific kind of word to capitalize on a joke they've just told, or a prank they've pulled on someone.
Examples of such exclamations would include hey-oh that ...
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What's the origin of saying "yoo hoo!" to get someone's attention?
A character in D.H. Lawrence's novel Women in Love (published 1920) calls out, "Shu-hu!" to hail her sister in a crowded place.
This must be the same as "yoo hoo". What is the source of this ...
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What’s the most practical punctuation for this simple sentence? [closed]
I know this seems rudimentary, but it’s tripping me up for some reason.
Yuck. Mushrooms are gross.
I feel the period creates to much of a pause and strays too far away from the emphasis I want on ...
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Origin of "man!", "(oh) boy!", and "oh brother"
Where did these interjections:
man!
(oh) boy!
oh brother
come from, and why are they all male?
If you don’t know their current meanings as interjections, it sounds very strange to say Man! when ...
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Is the expression "By the gods!" an interjection?
In the work of art it reads as follows: "No, by the gods! Would that it had been!"
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Interjection "et voilà"
I know et voilà is a French interjection and means there it is.
It is very much used in the US. Why is the use of et voilà so popular in the US?
Which historical fact has made it so popular?
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Hip Hip Hooray!
I am looking for the etymology and history of the cheer “Hip Hip Hooray”. I’m curious due to its interesting entry in Wikipedia, which reads thusly:
The call was recorded in England in the ...
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Fitting interjection for "that's nothing"
What would be an appropriate interjection to express little bit of disdain, like
I made it in 30 minutes.
Aaah, that's nothing, my friend did it in 15.
Is there something more fitting than "...
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What is it called when an interjection is inserted inside another word?
Typically (as far as I can think), the interject is something vulgar.
For example:
Radio-bloody-active (from an episode of Family Guy)
Ri-god-damn-diculuous
Un-fucking-believable"
What is the ...
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Is there a name/term for "multiplied vowels"?
For example if somebody is saying:
"Ooooooh myyyyyyy Gooooood" or if they realize something and go "Ooooooh!" or Darth Vader's "NOOOOOOO!", usually all of these extra vowels aren't included in the ...
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Interjection of exasperation or frustration when something is not working properly
When I am exasperated or frustrated when something is not working properly. Not like shit or fuck, those are just "something bad is happening", and too broad. I want something that's more like ...
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How to use the expression "lo and behold"
How should this expression be used, and what is its origin?
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Modern equivalent for "arrah", or for its Irish version, "yarrah"
I was reading an article on dialect discourse markers, and I came across one, namely "arrah", the meaning of which I couldn't fully understand. It was said that it is in some sort a "...
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Interjection between subordinate and main clauses
I have a question about this modest sentence for which I have no context except that it came to me. Then I wondered about its grammaticality.
Because it wasn’t my job—I didn’t work there—I left.
...
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What does "boy" mean here?
Recently, in a magazine, I read the following line:
It's been an eventful year and boy, has it flown past!
My question is, what does the word "boy" mean here? Is it an idiom? What is its usage?
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What does Chantor's Talon means?
I was watching the movie Onward (2020), at 48:07, then Ian hear the cops' siren, he exclaims:
Chantor's Talon! Cops!
What does "Chantor's Talon" mean?
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How is "erm" pronounced in the UK, and why is it spelled that way?
I see the interjection "erm" written in internet forum posts fairly often, and I have occasionally seen it in British novels, in opinion pieces and articles on cultural topics in newspapers and ...
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Origin of the word "whee"
What is the origin of the word whee, used as an interjection to express enjoyment or delight?
The only information I can find is that it is "natural exclamation" first recorded in the 1920's. ...
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What is the current, popular equivalent of "So be it!"?
That nice exclamation expressing resignation seems rather old fashioned, right? The Beatles sang "let it be" 60 years ago, is this still current?
What do you say nowadays in this context, is there any ...
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Can an em dash be inserted in the middle of a quotation for interjection?
I've found questions asking about an em dash in quoted speech, and punctuation rules for em dashes in quotes, but this question is quite different.
The example I saw comes from a tweet, reproduced ...
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An interjection/expression for expressing nostalgia
What is an interjection/expression to use to express nostalgia?
I was listening to a song which reminded me of my adolescent days, feeling nostalgic for those times. Are there kinds of nostalgia? ...
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Would "well done" also apply to a presently proceeding action?
Would "well done" also apply to a case, in which the performer of the action, the one for which he is receiving a praise, is still performing it at the moment of receiving the praise, in other words, ...
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How to spell what sounds like "ish" or "eesh"? [duplicate]
I've heard this word a lot of times, but still don't know how to write it down. It's used when you want to show some kind of disgust, or something like that. It sounds like "ish" or "eesh".
I've ...
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Was Old English "ēalās" equivalent to Modern English "hello"?
In a question in the Spanish Language site about the origin of Spanish hola 'hello', one of the answers states that Old English ēalās, written ēalā before a name, already sounded quite similar to hola,...
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Wow vs Whoa, what is the difference between them in the US?
I searched here wow and here whoa and they seem to be pronounced differently. I'm concerned only when the meaning is to signify surprise. However, I'm not sure when to use one or the other, since both ...
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What are specific cartoon-type interjections like "cough" and "sigh" called in English?
In comics, for example those by Walt Disney, interjections that describe or emphasize in words what the characters in the image are doing are quite commonly used (cough, sigh, tweet).
According to ...
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Where does the use of "why" as an interjection come from?
Examples:
Why, I'd love to.
Why, of course!
I get the concept of starting a sentence with a word not completely related to the overall response, but this one seems to be a particularly odd ...
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“passf***ingport” is it a bad use of interjection?
I was just having a little conversation with a few friends, and I used the word ‘passfuckingport’ out of nowhere. I am not sure what it sparked - my Western friends where alright with it, but one of ...
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What is a similar phrase to "scratch that"?
On Twitter, a reporter tweeted a phrase similar to "scratch that" once he realized he had made a factual error in his original tweet -- I cannot for the life of me remember what that phrase was!
Any ...
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A replacement exclamation for "Gee" or "Man"? [closed]
Sometimes, I might say 'Man', as the precursor to a statement as in this recent example I said to myself after reading something: "Man, to give anything a label will always technically be reductive, ...
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"Later, Magellan became involved in an insular conflict in the Philippines" What does "Insular" mean here?
"Later, Magellan became involved in an insular conflict in the Philippines"
What does "Insular" mean here?
As far as Cambridge Dictionary is concerned,
Insular means:
"interested only in ...
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Etymology of "boy" as an exclamation/interjection [duplicate]
In the sentence "Boy, is there a lot to answer for" (from a recent EL&U comment), "boy" is used for expressing a strong reaction, especially admiration or excitement.
How did this meaning/usage ...
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Is "shh" a word and why? [closed]
Is shh a word?
If it is, why is it a word?
If it is not, why isn't it a word?
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Would "Greetings" be a better word to greet someone any time than the word "Hello"?
Would "greetings" be a better word to greet someone anytime than the word "hello"?
Let say I meet Mr. Jackson at 2pm and Mr. Anderson at 7pm. Would it be better to greet them as "Greetings Mr. ...
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Yes, no, adverbs, and interjections
There appears to be some disagreement over what function yes and no perform in the following sentences:
Yes, you are right.
No, you are mistaken.
According to ODO (yes, no), they are being used as ...
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What are some non-expletives interjections for "I almost forgot [something]" [closed]
Just before leaving a conversation with someone, what non-expletives interjection could I use instead of the sentence "I almost forgot ..." if I want to sound apologetic?
For instance:
Could you ...
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What is the meaning of "that" as an Internet slang?
I see many times in comment sections of Internet forums such comments as the following:
A: This girl is so ugly and I know nobody will date her ever.
B: That!
What does it mean?
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History of "oh well"
"Oh well" is an interjection used to express acquiescence or resignation towards an undesirable event which has occurred (maybe this isn't the most precise definition, but I think most native English ...
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Onomatopoeia for disgust [duplicate]
Are there any English onomatopoeias for disgust / loathe? What exclamations are commonly used to express repulsion?
Something that could be used like:
(___) dog shit. I loathe it! (some sound here)...
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Why is a word chosen as a pejorative? [duplicate]
Why is "duh" the word chosen to represent ignorance? Merriam Webster defines "duh" as "used derisively to indicate that something just stated is all too obvious or self-evident." But a derivation isn'...
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