A Guide to All Terms Todd-like
blarg (blarg) interj. [Eng blah + erg] used to
express aggressive feelings of discontent (see erg) when no
other words will. Often indicates that the speaker does not feel able to
handle the circumstances which prompted him to say the word in the first
place.[Upon realizing he had two tests that day and was very ill,
Joey simply shouted, "Blarg!"] (Note: blarg is always
used with an exclamation mark)
erg (urg) interj. [corruption of Comm. Eng. argh?]
used to indicate that things are not as they should be, but in general are
still able to be dealt with. ["Sure, I want to go to the show that
night, but I really should catch up on my sleep, but they won't be back for
another year, but the ticket price is so much...erg."] (Note:
erg is only used with a period following it, as it is not so much an
exclamation but rather something that is stated)
farq (fark) interj. [corruption of Comm. Eng. f***?]
used interchangably with another, more common four-letter word beginning
with 'f', but this one was created to circumvent the problems of the former
in that it has not been deemed vulgar by society, while still retaining the
pleasurable initial fricative 'f' and the crisp ending stop 'k'. [
Upon dropping the dinette set on his little toe, Fred exclaimed,"Farq!
Farq! Farq, oh baby, farq!!!"] (Note: farq cannot be used
as anything other than an exclamation as compared to its counterpart, and
mispronunciation may lead to this word sounding like that word, which is
ironically not the point)
idunno (eye-done-no) interj. [corruption of Eng. I don't
know] used in a conversation to express that the speaker would like to
say something but cannot think of words to express it, or has something in
mind to say, but does not feel comfortable expressing it. Generally used
in place of a more appropriate ellipsis (...) but where the speaker feels
something needs to be said. ["So, uh, this Saturday...idunno...um,
what are you...idunno...er..."]
mmm (mmm or hmmmm) interj. [unknown orig.] 1. used to express
general malaise or discontent, like erg but more silently, possibly
just for the speaker to hear. [Upon hearing the bad news, Jill
groaned, "Mmmmmm....erg."] 2. used to express disbelief in what
has just been said without accusing anyone, thereby usually getting around having
the speaker get into an argument. ["You're the president of Andorra? Hmmmm..."
] (Note: mmmmm is always used with an ellipsis)
uh (uh) interj. [unknown orig.] used in speaking to express
that, had the conversation been written, there would have been a comma where
the word "uh" was uttered. ["So uh Jenny uh what are you uh I mean..."
Note that the speaker here has correctly used commas in direct address]
weehaa (wee-hah or wee-haaa) interj. used to express, sarcastically or
not, a general sense of well-being and happiness particular to the moment when it is
said. Often indicates to the intended hearer that while the speaker or the hearer's
faces may not show it, a good time is being had. However, it can also be employed in
the most dramatic of facetious remarks. [When Todd stepped out the door on
Saturday morning and saw the blue sky and yellow sun, he simply said,"Weehaa!" and
went off to do some serious goofing off.]
wum (wum) interj. [Common Eng. whoa + um] used to express
general amazement or to express that what has just happened was really not expected.
[When his roommate walked into the room wearing a dress, Billy said,"Wum!",
paused, and then made up an excuse for leaving the room.] Note: the degree
to which wum expresses true amazement is directly dependent on its "Joey
Lawrence quality", that is, the degree to which it dips in tone as it is uttered, much
as when Joey Lawrence says "Whoa!"
y'know (yuh-no) [corruption of Common Eng. you know] used in the place
of where a comma would be in writing, but also used to elicit some sort of response
from an audience which appears reluctant to respond to the actual conversation.
["So then the other day I went to the store y'know and I saw her...y'know?"
] Note: the proper response to someone overusing y'know in order
to elicit a response you do not feel like giving is to simply nod your head or to
quietly say,"Uh-huh.")
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Todd "Odd Ox" Stadler
stadler@rice.edu