Word for the Wise

June 08, 2006 Broadcast

Topic: Upsy-daisy and other interjections

Today is Upsy Daisy Day. According to the cheerful folks behind this celebration, today is a day for everyone to get up gloriously, gratefully, and gleefully.

Since it's a bit too late for us to try getting up gleefully, instead we'll do our best to lift spirits with some talk about interjections.

Upsy-daisy is an interjection, and (despite today's usage) it is typically used to express reassurance to a young child when he or she is being lifted. An interjection is an ejaculatory word or form of speech—that is, it is a short, sudden emotional utterance—that usually lacks grammatical connection.

As you would expect, right? Interjections have been around as long as English itself. Hah dates to before the 12th century and hey to the 13th. Pish was a 16th-century coinage and phew first appeared in print during the 17th century. Interjections are not all old, of course. Uh huh came along in the 19th century, and phooey has been around for less than a century.

Interjections are powerful, and they often require interpretation. Aw, for instance, can be used to express mild disappointment, gentle entreaty, and real (or mock) sympathy or sentiment. Duh can express actual or feigned ignorance or stupidity; it can also be used derisively to indicate something just stated is all too obvious or self-evident.

Questions or comments? Write us at wftw@aol.com Production and research support for Word for the Wise comes from Merriam-Webster, publisher of language reference books and Web sites including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.