Teacher Discussion Forums

aw shucks (interjection)

Is it AmE and not used in the UK?

Thank you.

Aw Shucks

Might be Used in UK and would certianly be understood.

Is a slang euphamism for 'Oh *beep*!'

BrE slang equivalent - "Oh sugar!"

tigertiger wrote:Aw Shucks

Might be Used in UK and would certianly be understood.

Is a slang euphamism for 'Oh *beep*!'

BrE slang equivalent - "Oh sugar!"

However, "aw shucks" does not have a meaning of "oh *beep*" in the U.S.

It could be used in this situation:

A: Thanks for your help! We could never have done it without you.
B: Aw shucks, I just did what anyone else would do.

Lorikeet wrote:
However, "aw shucks" does not have a meaning of "oh *beep*" in the U.S.

It could be used in this situation:

A: Thanks for your help! We could never have done it without you.
B: Aw shucks, I just did what anyone else would do.

From www.dictionary.com

START
interj. shucks (shks)
Used to express mild disappointment, disgust, or annoyance.

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[Origin unknown. Interj., alteration of *beep*.]
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shucks

n 1: something of little value; "his promise is not worth a damn"; "not worth one red cent"; "not worth shucks" [syn: damn, darn, hoot, red cent, *beep*, tinker's damn, tinker's dam] 2: an expression of disappointment or irritation

END

From the surrounding vocab, this is AmE.
Just not polite AmE.

Lorri, I am not labouring this to be crude, but students need to be aware that not all interjection are polite. For intermediate - advanced students I use examples of 'Oh Sugar, bun in the oven' when introducing euphamisms.

For students going to work in the UK/US it is worth mentioning the sh1t word as they will here it so often as an interjection.
And others like 'jeepers kreepers' would be seen as blasphemous by more devout members of more strict communities.

tigertiger wrote: Lorri, I am not labouring this to be crude, but students need to be aware that not all interjection are polite.
...
For students going to work in the UK/US it is worth mentioning the sh1t word as they will here it so often as an interjection.
And others like 'jeepers kreepers' would be seen as blasphemous by more devout members of more strict communities.

I have no problem with your bringing up different things, tigertiger. It's just that *I* would make that mistake, since I have no connotation of that in my individual speech. Whether the word is changing in meaning, or I just always "got it wrong" I have no idea. I, too, teach my students what is impolite and what not to say in certain situations. I tell them not to use "shut up" for example. Perhaps they hear it on TV, but that's not a good way to ask someone in class to quiet down.

A Polish friend of mine was translating Harlequin novels and had one set out West, where the cowboy hero said, "Aw shucks, ma'am, tweren't nuthin", or some such. She asked me what it meant. It never occurred to me that the phrase could be a mild form of "Oh sh*t"...

(I don't recall how she translated it, but it wasn't anything with "cukier"!)

Aw Shucks

Perhaps an example of where common useage has diverged in two directions.

Oh sh...
Vs
expression of mild embarrassment due to humility