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Thread: interjections - are any hopelessly dated?

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    Verona_82 is offline Senior Member
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    Default interjections - are any hopelessly dated?

    Hello,

    I'm trying to come up with a list of common interjections to jazz up my spoken English. Having no problems with 'aw', 'duh' or 'huh', I realized there are too many ways to express annoyance or surprise. What I've got so far is:

    expressing annoyance/anger/disappointment
    darn!
    rats!
    drat!
    blast!
    shit! (impolite)
    damn! (impolite)

    (I won't use the last two much)

    expressing surprise
    jeez
    gee
    gosh
    goodness
    whoa

    Are any of them hopelessly dated? Are there any other commonly used interjections that can be added to the lists?

    Thank you!

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    Default Re: interjections - are any hopelessly dated?

    It's very hard to give a clear answer, because so many of these words are generation-tied. Some of the expressions my 87-year-old mother uses seem positively Victorian to me; I am sure my offspring feel the same about some of the expressions I use.
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    Verona_82 is offline Senior Member
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    Default Re: interjections - are any hopelessly dated?

    Quote Originally Posted by fivejedjon View Post
    It's very hard to give a clear answer, because so many of these words are generation-tied. Some of the expressions my 87-year-old mother uses seem positively Victorian to me; I am sure my offspring feel the same about some of the expressions I use.
    And which ones does your offspring use? Something tells me it's not 'rats'

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    Default Re: interjections - are any hopelessly dated?

    Quote Originally Posted by Verona_82 View Post
    And which ones does your offspring use? Something tells me it's not 'rats'
    It's something old-fashioned actually - to do with barrels - it's 'firkin', I think.
    Last edited by 5jj; 04-Oct-2011 at 14:54.
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    Tdol is offline Editor, UsingEnglish.com
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    Default Re: interjections - are any hopelessly dated?

    These seem dated to me:
    darn!
    rats!
    drat!
    blast!
    I think these were dated when I was a child, and that was a frighteningly long time ago.
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    Verona_82 is offline Senior Member
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    Default Re: interjections - are any hopelessly dated?

    Quote Originally Posted by fivejedjon View Post
    - to do with barrels it's 'firkin'
    I'm not sure I understand what you mean

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    waflob is offline Member
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    Default Re: interjections - are any hopelessly dated?

    I think 5jj is being droll . Firkin isn't the word used by the younger generation, but sounds a bit like the one that is used. Using the real word would be considered vulgar etc.

    My impression is that the kids today speak in abbreviations, saying thing such as lol, rofl, wtf and omfg. No, really, I've heard people actually say those !!
    emsr2d2, 5jj, Verona_82 and 1 others like this.

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    Default Re: interjections - are any hopelessly dated?

    Quote Originally Posted by Verona_82 View Post
    I'm not sure I understand what you mean
    I was suggesting, as waflob hinted, that the word most commonly used by young people today is what we old f**ts sometimes call 'the F-word'.
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    Default Re: interjections - are any hopelessly dated?

    I say "Darn it!" very frequently. But then, I was all in favor of returning to the kinder, gentler era of things like "oh my stars and garters!"
    Tdol, emsr2d2, 5jj and 1 others like this.
    I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.

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    Tdol is offline Editor, UsingEnglish.com
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    Default Re: interjections - are any hopelessly dated?

    Quote Originally Posted by fivejedjon View Post
    old f**ts
    What's scary is that I was a teenager when this term came into use. And used to use it about people other than myself.
    5jj and suprunp like this.

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