pfui
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From German pfui, also the source of phooey.
Interjection edit
pfui
- an exclamation indicating disagreement or rejection of an argument; contempt
- Synonyms: feh, pfaugh; see also Thesaurus:bah
- 1981, Charles H. Kahn, The Art and Thought of Heraclitus, →ISBN:
- 'Pfui!' The captain spat. 'I've never met such a dumb sailor as you. So where do you think the old moon goes?'
- 1993, Samuel Beckett, Eoin O'Brien, Edith Fournier, Dream of Fair to Middling Women, →ISBN, page 14:
- She liked Arschlochweh and adored Improvisation; but the Anatomiestunde and the bending and stretching she did not like. "Pfui!" she was disgusted, lifting her shoulders and spreading her hands like the Mandarin, "pfui! the old body!'
- 2008, Christopher Isherwood, The Berlin Stories, →ISBN, page 175:
- He comes barging in here as if the place belonged to him. And intoxicated . . . pfui! . . . the disgusting pig!
Usage notes edit
Signature declamation of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe detective character.
German edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Middle High German pfui, phiu, probably imitative of spitting out.
Pronunciation edit
Interjection edit
pfui
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
Further reading edit
- “pfui” in Duden online
- “pfui” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- J. C. Adelung (1798) “Pfuj!”, in Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart (in German), 2nd edition, volume 3, page 758
- J. C. Adelung (1801) “Y”, in Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart (in German), 2nd edition, volume 4
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from German
- English terms derived from German
- English lemmas
- English interjections
- English terms with quotations
- German terms inherited from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Middle High German
- German onomatopoeias
- German 1-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- German lemmas
- German interjections