By Jove!

Status
Not open for further replies.
G

GeneD

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2017
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Russian
Home Country
Belarus
Current Location
Belarus
Which exclamation phrases do you use when you feel like expressing your amazement? Something tells me 'By Jove!' or 'God almighty!' would sound old-fashioned. :) If so, would you share a couple of newer ones, please?
 
And b*gger me, sh*t, etc. We're ruder today than in the By Jove days of yore.
 
Which letter have you asterisked, Tdol? I don't know the word.:)
 
Many Americans still avoid vulgarity. You may hear "Goodness!", "Wow!", "Holy moley!" and a slew of other exclamations if you visit our shores when the world reopens.
 
If one "Wow" isn't enough I might say, "Wow! Wow!" Sometimes three "Wow"s.

I haven't tried "Holey moley" yet

:)
 
The most common, and least vulgar, amongst my friends and relatives is probably "Bloody hell!", closely followed by "Blimey!"
 
We eagerly anticipate a "Crikey!" when someone on the British Antiques Roadshow learns the dusty vase they were ready to throw away is worth a hundred thousand pounds.

(For learners: "blimey" and "crikey" are not used in American English.)
 
One of my friends, a Newfie, always said "Holy muckfay". For the uninitiated, muckfay is what we used to call pig Latin in my ancient school days.
 
'Muckfay' means 'f*ck' in pig Latin, right? :)
 
I had a pet hamster called "Feck". I got him at the time that Father Ted was it its most popular. The most amusing thing, for me, was when I had to take him to the vet and, when it was his turn to be examined, the vet would poke her head out of her room and shout "Feck" at the top of her voice. She was a fan of the show and loved the reaction from the other people in the waiting room too!
 
Tarheel said:
If one "Wow" isn't enough I might say, "Wow! Wow!" Sometimes three "Wow"s.

I haven't tried "Holey moley" yet

:)
Click to expand...
Where I come from, it's Holy moly!

There's always the good old, reliable Holy shit!

I like Yikes!, Good grief!, and Whoa!

One of my nieces frequently deploys O-M-G!

And Maine has the highly evocative J.C. variants Jiminy Christmas! and Jeezum Crow!
 
GeneD said:
'Muckfay' means 'f*ck' in Pig Latin, right? :)
Click to expand...
Close. That would be uckfay.

Muckfay would be Pig Latin for fmuck.

What happens in Newfoundland stays in Newfoundland.
 
I didn't know there was the word 'fmuck' in English, but I googled and there is! Thanks for pointing that out. And for the correction of the error thanks too.

Edit by moderator: Warning to other users: if you click on the link above, you will be taken to the Urban Dictionary where you will find a fairly offensive definition, including profanity.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
GeneD said:
I didn't know there was the word 'fmuck' in English, but I googled and there is! Thanks for pointing that out. And for the correction of the error thanks too.
Click to expand...
It's big news to me, too! Thanks!
 
GeneD said:
I didn't know there was the word 'fmuck' in English, but I googled and there is! Thanks for pointing that out. And for the correction of the error thanks too.

Edit by moderator: Warning to other users: if you click on the link above, you will be taken to the Urban Dictionary where you will find a fairly offensive definition, including profanity.
Click to expand...

I'd advise learners not to put too much faith in UrbanDictionary. It has its uses, but is very unrelaible.
 
Last edited:
I think fmuck is on a par with Psmith as a language guide. The site is full of nonsense, but it is also full of good recordings of slang- anyone can post anything, so a lot is simply childish insults of a classmate, but it does catch all the latest real slang. Use it, but be wary. Simply enter the word in your search engine and see if it produces a few pages of relevant results.
 
Tdol said:
I think fmuck is on a par with Psmith as a language guide.
Click to expand...
Thanks for mentioning Psmith, Tdol. I always wondered why Wodehouse gave such a terrible-sounding name to the character, and thanks to you I have found out that the initial 'p' in 'Psmith' is mute!
 
GeneD said:
Thanks for mentioning Psmith, Tdol. I always wondered why Wodehouse gave such a terrible-sounding name to the character, and thanks to you I have found out that the initial 'p' in 'Psmith' is mute!
Click to expand...
Yes. Like psychic, psychotic, and psilocybin.

The p is silent in words that begin with ps. (Or pn.) Most of us blame the Greeks.

Wodehouse was just being cute.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top