Monday, March 6, 2017

Prelude to a “Choo”


[Nancy, February 4, 1950.]

Hi Flagston’s “Ug!” made me think of Nancy Ritz’s “Ak.” Nancy has just gazed upon a poster for Health Week: “Cover That Sneeze.” Her “Ak” is the prelude to a megaphone-shaped “Choo.”


[Nancy, February 4, 1950.]

Could “Ak” be the etymon of Cathy Andrews Hillman’s “Aack,” “Aaack,” and “Aaaack”? Nah, I didn’t really think so either. If Cathy’s “Aack” has an etymon, it’s almost certainly “Aaugh.”

Related reading
All OCA Nancy posts (Pinboard)
“Kchaou!” (A sneeze in the Odyssey)

comments: 2

shallnot said...

While we typically depict sneezes as being "a-choo" I can see someone trying to capture the aspirated nature of trying hold one in "akh - akh" etc.

This brings to mind the question: do Arabic speakers depict a sneeze differently than English speakers?

Michael Leddy said...

Here are ten different sneezes. No Arabic though.