A.Word.A.Day--attaboy

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msesheta

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Sep 10, 2011, 9:52:06 AM9/10/11

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The Magic of Words

Sep 9, 2011

This week's theme
Interjections

This week's words
cowabunga
huzzah
gesundheit
bada-bing
attaboy

A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

attaboy

PRONUNCIATION:

(AT-uh-boi)

MEANING:

interjection: Used to express approval or encouragement.

ETYMOLOGY:

Alteration of "That's the boy." Earliest documented use: 1909.

USAGE:

"The employees are not asking for a whole lot -- just an Attaboy! or an Attagirl! And news of this small gesture moves like wildfire through the ranks."
Labonita Ghosh; Five Ways to Reward the B-player in Your Team; The Economic Times (New Delhi, India); Feb 1, 2011.

"Dr. Burton refutes the notion that present-day parents have coddled and attaboyed their children."
Michael Tortorello; Mom, You're One Tough Art Critic; The New York Times; Jan 27, 2011.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep. - Saul Bellow, writer, Nobel laureate (1915-2005)