läck Bobby

Alemannic German

Alternative forms

• läck Bobbi
• läck Boby
• läck Bobi

Etymology

Likely emerged after 1895-1905, because of its absence in Schweizerisches Idiotikon whose volumes in which it should have been listed were published in that time. Probably emerged as a minced oath of läck mer am Arsch as swearwords have the tendency to also be used as interjections of astonishment. The Bobby part is unlikely to be from English but rather a diminutive of the male given name Jakob, analogous to other Alemannic swear words involving given names such as Säunickel from Nikolaus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlækχ ˈb̥ob̥i/

Interjection

läck Bobby

1. good Lord (expression of astonishment)

Further reading

• “Läck Bobi!”, in Wörterbuch Berndeutsch-Deutsch (in German), berndeutsch.ch, 1999–2024