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sound of spit

English translation: puh!


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16:08 Jun 1, 2011
English to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
English term or phrase: sound of spit
Does anyone have a suggestion on how to convey the sound of spitting in writing?

She spit in his face. Spit, spit, spit (except I want to write the sound).

Thank you in advance.
Amel Abdullah
English translation:puh!
Explanation:
? horrible enough?
Selected response from:

xxxR.C.
Local time: 04:08
Grading comment
Thank you, Rafaela!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4ptooey
David Hollywood
4 +1Spit!
Sheila Wilson
3 +2puh!xxxR.C.
4splat
Samantha Payn
2sputter spatter spurt splatter
Jonathan MacKerron


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
sputter spatter spurt splatter


Explanation:
couple of options to get things rolling

Jonathan MacKerron
Local time: 04:08
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 64
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6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
puh!


Explanation:
? horrible enough?

xxxR.C.
Local time: 04:08
Works in field
Native speaker of: Italian
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you, Rafaela!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Samantha Payn: That's the sound of her spitting all right!
6 mins
agree  Allison Wright: Perfectly horrible!
1 hr
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8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
splat


Explanation:
My suggestion.

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Note added at 9 mins (2011-06-01 16:18:01 GMT)
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That's the sound of the spit landing.

Samantha Payn
United Kingdom
Local time: 03:08
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  xxxR.C.: I would not insist on the landing, rather on the eruption stage
1 day16 mins
  -> You're probably right!
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8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
ptooey


Explanation:
ptooey. Onomatopoetic word originating from the sound made by spitting. Used to indicate disgust. "That's not Coke, it's Dr Pepper." ...
www.urbandictionary.com/products.php?term=ptooey&defid... - Cached

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Note added at 9 mins (2011-06-01 16:18:13 GMT)
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But the typical onomatopoeia for spitting is built around /tu/, with optional ... <ptooey>. And if you want to represent the whole action of ...
tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/worldlanglist/message/583 - Cachedeating and drinking onomatopoeiaWritten Sound, the Onomatopoeia Dictionary ... ptooey. spitting out something solid such as a cherry pit ("Garfield", Jim Davis). keywords eat_drink animal ...
www.writtensound.com/index.php?term=eat_drink - Cached'Ptooey!' by Said el Haji | Radio Netherlands Worldwide30 Jan 2009 ... According to the on-line Urban Dictionary, "ptooey" is the onomatopoetic word for the sound made by spitting, used to indicate disgust. ...
www.rnw.nl/english/radioshow/ptooey-said-el-haji - CachedOnomatopoeia of Disgust4 posts - 3 authors - Last post: 19 Feb 2007
"Ptooey" seems to be gaining nonphlegmatically; see http://tinyurl.com/2af4lk ... Surely they're all onomatopoeia for spitting? ...
www.learnglish.com/Uwe/Forum.aspx/.../Onomatopoeia-of-Disgu... - CachedGet more discussion results


David Hollywood
Local time: 23:08
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 82

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Cristiano Chiminello
1 hr
  -> thanks Cristiano :)
agree  Ildiko Santana
13 hrs
agree  Veronika McLaren
20 hrs
agree  Phong Le
21 hrs
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38 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Spit!


Explanation:
It's already an onomatopeic word!

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Note added at 47 mins (2011-06-01 16:55:36 GMT)
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Of course, if the text is in British English, you won't want to say "She spit in his face". Present = she spits; past = she spat; so
She spat in his face. Spit! spit! spit!

Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 03:08
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 44
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you, Sheila. In the U.S., both "spit" and "spat" are used for the past tense, but "spit" is more common.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Allison Wright: Absolutely correct on all counts, but seems a little old fashioned, after decades of exposure to "kapows" and "boings".
1 hr
  -> Yes, they're good too, but I actually think of them as being old-fashioned - shades of Batman episodes back last century sometime (1960s or 70s?).
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