Exclamations

NN1 Other words like ‘yes’: “Are you coming along too?” (Give response in IPA; include the ‘grunts’.)

NN2 Exclamations of very strong agreement: Somebody says, “I think Smith is absolutely right,” and you reply, “________.”

NN3 Words and expressions meaning ‘Don’t you agree?’: “She’s a nice-looking woman, ________?” or “We ought to come back here again, ________?”

NN4 Other ways of answering ‘no’: “Would you lend him ten dollars?” “________.”

NN5 Other ways of saying ‘Do you understand?’: “You take hold of it this way, ________?”

NN6a Exclamations of joy—for example, when somebody gets a pleasant surprise, he might shout “________.”

NN6b Expressions of joy used mostly by children:

NN7 Exclamations of surprise: “They’re getting married next week? Well, ________.”

NN8a Exclamations of annoyance or disgust: “Oh ________. I’ve lost my glasses again.”

NN8b Other expressions of annoyance: “This jar won’t come open, ________ it.”

NN9a Exclamations showing great annoyance: “________. The electric power is off again.”

NN9b Exclamations showing great annoyance: “He’s run off with my hammer again, ________!”

NN10a Expressions (such as ‘hello’) used when you meet somebody you know quite well:

NN10b Greetings used when you meet somebody you do not know well:

NN11 Informal ways of saying ‘good-bye’ to people you know quite well: (Include humorous expressions.)

NN12a Things that people say to put a child off when he asks too many questions: “What’s that for?” (Pronounce ‘fur’.)

NN12b Things that people say to put off a child when he asks, “What are you making?”

NN13 When you think that the thing somebody has just said is silly or untrue: “Oh, that’s a lot of ________.”

NN14 When you doubt something that somebody has said, and you want to be sure that it is true, you say: “Is that really so?” He answers “________.” [Asked in early Questionnaires only]

NN15 An oath or profane word: “Every time he opens his mouth a ________ comes out.” [Asked in early Questionnaires only]

NN16 Swearing or using obscene language: “He’s always ________.” [Asked in early Questionnaires only]

NN17 Something that keeps on annoying you—for example, a fly that keeps buzzing around you: “That ________ fly won’t go away.”

NN18 When somebody sneezes, what do people say to him?

NN19 When you want people to stop talking for a moment so that you can listen for something, you say: (Gesture, raising finger and cocking head.)

NN20a Exclamations caused by sudden pain—a blow on the thumb:

NN20b Exclamations caused by sudden pain—a slight burn:

NN21a Exclamations caused by sudden pain—a pinched finger:

NN21b Exclamations caused by sudden pain—a hard blow on the chest:

NN21c Exclamations caused by sudden pain—a twisted ankle:

NN22a Expressions used to drive away people or animals—for example, flies:

NN22b Expressions used to drive away children:

NN22c Expressions used to drive away a dog:

NN22d Expressions used to drive away animals other than dogs:

NN23 Exclamations when people smell a very bad odor:

NN24 Humorous substitutes for stronger exclamations: “Why the son of a ________!”

NN25a Weakened substitutes for ‘damn’ or ‘damned’: “________ it all!”

NN25b Weakened substututes for ‘damn’ or ‘damned’: “Well, I’ll be ________!”

NN26a Weakened substitutes for ‘hell’: “Oh ________!”

NN26b Weakened substitutes for ‘hell’: “Go to ________!”

NN26c Weakened substitutes for ‘hell’: “What the ________!”

NN27a Weakened substitutes for ‘god’: “My ________!”

NN27b Weakened substitutes for ‘god’: “For ________ sakes!”

NN28a Exclamations beginning with ‘good’: “Good ________!”

NN28b Exclamations beginning with ‘goodness’: “Goodness ________!”

NN29a Exclamations beginning with ‘great’: “Great ________!”

NN29b Exclamations beginning with ‘land’: “Land ________!”

NN29c Exclamations beginning with ‘holy’: “Holy ________!”

NN30 Exclamations beginning with the sound of ‘j’: (Make the sound ‘jee-‘, get all variants.)

NN31 Exclamations beginning with the sound of ‘cr-‘, for example, ‘cripes’:

NN32 Exclamations like ‘I swear’ or ‘I vow’: “I ________.”

DARE Data Summary by Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.