hawk hack ahem, gathering phlegm up your throat in order to spit it out

[curiousmarcus]

What do you the act of gathering phlegm up your throat in order to spit it out? There's no coughing involved, only this act of "gathering" (I can't come up with a better word). I googled a bit and found the words hawk, hack, and ahem. But I'm not really sure how to use them.

I wish I had Suzie's ability to _____ phlegm. Whenever she catches a cold, she'd just _____ the phlegm and the cold will be gone in a few days.

 

[tedmc]

to cough out phlegm
to hock a loogie

 

[Tdol]

I'd use hawk with phlegm.

 

[Skrej]

I'm okay with either 'hack' or 'hawk' (although I'd say 'hawk up').

'Ahem' isn't a verb. It's just an interjection used to get somebody's attention.

 

[Barb_D]

I wish I had Suzie's ability to _____ phlegm. Whenever she catches a cold, she'd just _____ the phlegm and the cold will be gone in a few days.

Note that this activity would be met with horror by most people in the U.S.

 

[Skrej]

The medical term for this is expectorate. Drugs that help you do it are known as expectorants. However, I wouldn't expect to hear the terms from anybody except a doctor or pharmacist.

 

[emsr2d2]

Doing it in one's own home is acceptable (if one really must) but doing it in public is revolting. Unfortunately, it's becoming more and more common in the UK and I feel genuinely sick when I see/hear someone do it.

 

[Tdol]

I have to not step in their cultural expectorations twenty times a day. :crazyeye: