Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia
I love making sounds with my mouth and I love language. So, naturally, onomatopoeic words are infinitely fascinating to me. Here's a short (incomplete) list I've compiled of words that are sounds and vice-versa:
Achoo - the sound of sneezing. (also half a designer footwear set)
Ahooga - the sound of an antique car horn.
Baa - the sound a sheep makes.
Bang - the sound of a gun...that is legally owned and operated, of course.
Bark - the sound a dog makes (except for my neighbors dog, which sounds more like an orangutan stuck in a trash compactor)
Boom - the sound of something exploding (see also, KaBoom!)
Beep - a short synthetic or electronic pulse.
Boing - the sound of a spring or springing up or a well known US aircraft manufacturer.
Bow wow - the sound of a bigger dog (see Bark).
Buzz - the sound of a bee or just about any annoying insect.
Cheep - the sound of a bird or baby bird...but not Big Bird (or someone penurious).
Choo Choo - the sound of a steam train. (and a pair of designer shoes)
Clack - a short, sharp, sudden sound often associated with wood smacking.
Clank - a metal impact.
Clang - a metal impact made with a frying pan on ones head, followed by bird twitter.
Cluck - the sound of a chicken.
Cock-a-doodle-do - the sound of a rooster.
Cuckoo - the sound of the bird of the same name or its eponymous clock.
Ding - the sound of a small bell or microwave oven timer.
Ding Dong - the sound of church bells... signaling the death of a witch.
Gobble - the sound of a turkey, pre-thanksgiving.
Ha Ha - the sound of laughter.
Ha Ha! - The sound of discovering a secret or uncovering a deceit.
Hee Hee - the sound of small, disingenuous laughter.
Hee-haw - the sound of a donkey.
Hiccup - the sound of a short, involuntary gasp for air.
Hiss - the sound of a snake or a flat tire or a mortgage banker.
Honk - the sound of a goose or a car horn.
Kaboom - the sound of something really big exploding (see Boom, above).
Kaching - the sound of a mechanical cash register bell..and the sound greedy people make.
Flip flop - the sound of footwear worn at the beach (and politicians making promises)
Ka-Pow - the sound of getting hit in the jaw...by Batman.
Krunch - the sound of biting something....crunchy. Duh.
Lub-Lub - the sound of the human heart beating.
Meep Meep - Apparently the sound of a roadrunner (Acceleratus Incredibilus).
Meow - the sound of a cat.
Moo - the sound of a cow.
Murmur - the unintelligible utterances of a very quiet person or crowd.
Neigh - the sound a horse makes (when it disagrees with you)
Oink - the sound of a pig.
Ow - the sound we make when in pain.
Pitter Patter - the sound of tiny feet scampering about (or tiny Foley Artists?)
Pow - the sound of hitting something in a cartoon. See Kapow, above.
Quack - the sound of a duck. (or an insane doctor)
Ribbit - the sound of a frog...or a toad. Please consult your local herpetologist
Shhhh - a universal sound used to ask for quiet. (apparently, no one in movie theaters understands this word)
Slurp - to consume a liquid quickly. Often followed by "Ow!" if the liquid is too hot.
Splash - the sound made when hitting or falling in water.
Splat - the sound of a liquid or other aqueous substance impacting with great force.
Splurch - the sound of a liquid being expelled with great force.
Splotch - the sound of an even thicker liquid impacting with greater force (see Jackson Pollack).
Tick Tock - the sound of a mechanical clock and, oddly,not the eponymous cel phone app.
Ugh - the sound we make when hit in the body or receiving our tax bill.
Vroom - the sound a car engine makes when accelerating.
Wa Wa Wa Wa Wahhh - The sound of sadness or disappointment when performed on a trombone.
Walla - the indistinct sound of a crowd of people.
Wham - the sound of hitting something...anything...with great force.
Whip-poor-will - the sound of the eponymous bird.
Whoosh - to move through air very quickly.
Woof Woof - the sound of a bigger dog. (see Bow-wow above).
Zap - the sound of electricity sparking sharply.
Zzzzzhhh...Zzzzhhh - the sound of a light saber. This isn't really a word but it should be.
Zuzz - The sound corduroy pants make when your legs rub together. Is this what we sound like to crickets?
Monday, March 23, 2020