The fine young gents have been reading Calvin and Hobbes. Six-year-old gent is particularly fascinated by "not my brother, the other one" Calvin's antics, and recounts the strips with gusto. His favorite these past two days is Calvin barfing in the middle of the night. Which led me to ponder in the middle of the night....
When did we outgrow the word "barf"?
BARF!
It sounds just like what it is. A loud, round, rough word, a vivid verb, the epitome of onomatopoeia. Instead we use the pale and sickly "vomit" or the bland "threw up" or "puke"--such a wimpy word.
From now on, I'm going to say "barf." Barf, barf, barf.
(And then, finally, I fell asleep. I need to stop drinking caffeinated tea before bed.)
Today, I'll be saying "epitome of onomatopoeia" all day long. Try it! It's delicious.
2 comments:
Barf!
I think I'll try using that word from now on. It does sound much funnier than 'puke', which is what I usually use.
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Don't knock the word "vomit"! I remember the day I added the word to my vocabulary. Teenager-you and mom were repeating it, in funny voices, with lots of giggles. Plus, it rhymes with "comet," which makes for some lovely mental imagery.
I agree, "puke" is wimpy.
"Threw up" is for when you are feeling sympathetic for the one with an upset tummy.
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