Ah, Ahh, Aah, Awe, Aw, or Ah Is That Underwear
Understanding the difference between Ah and Awe and Aw
A long time ago, Shaun and I put out a podcast all about aw, ah, awe or ah, and I think it’s time to revisit this, English speakers and writers.
You ready?
None of us are perfect with the grammar, especially not us native-English speakers.
We’ve got all these words that mean totally different things but sound EXACTLY THE SAME! This is cruel. The English language is cruel.
Hopefully, this podcast will help with a couple things:
Prove that dogs are smarter than people because they don’t have to spell.
Help you all out about a five-some of evil. Yes, I’m talking about Aah, ah, ahh, aw, and awe.
WHY THE NEED?
I know you’ve all seen it on Facebook. Someone you love writes, “Awe (a-w-e) that’s so cutie.”
And you’re like, “No! Agh. I don’t want to be evil and tell them but they are using the wrong spelling here.”
Or maybe it’s you? And you’re tired of grammar warriors trashing your points because you’re human and just got one word wrong. Super annoying, right?
LET’S GET STARTED.
Aah!
This is an interjection. It’s like a giant mosquito as big as a velociraptor is hovering in front of your nose. You are afraid. Aah is what we use for those moments.
“Aah! A zombified velocirapter! Aah! Don’t eat me! Don’t—”
It has a super close relative – Ah!
Ah!
Ah is an interjection, too. But this time you aren’t expressing fear; this time you are expressing love, surprise, pleasure, a realization.
“Ah! I now understand that was not a mosquito but was actually an Amazon delivery drone.”
Ahh.
And then we have their lovely relative, Ahh.
Ahh is when you get something or you accept something.
Ahh, I do love you and your way with drones.
Ahh, this is how the world works, you act like a narcissist on social media and you suddenly have a million followers.
Let’s move on.
Aw
Aw is what most people are meaning when they write ‘awe.’
Aw is when something is super cutie or adorbs.
Sometimes we use it to show we’re disappointed. Aw! English! You make no sense.
So, it’s like this:
Aw, you are the bestest, cutiest Rotary club president ever.
Aw, your puppy is adorable!
Aw, that manatee lingere is the best underwear ever!
Aw, I probably should have realized that I have no chill prior to taking a leadership role and now I’m just sub-tweeting everyone and whining about their underwear.
And then we have the all-mighty awe.
AWE
CUE GODLIKE MUSIC HERE.
Feeling like you are full of admiration, fear, reverence because of something super big-time like God or manatees swimming nearby or some really amazing underwear?
This is awe.
She raised her hands to the sky, overwhelmed with awe as the flying manatee in purple plaid underwear approached.
At the edge of the Grand Canyon, he grasped her sleeve in awe of the magnificence below them.
WRITER TIP OF THE POD
Dictionaries are our friends. Words have meanings. Don’t stress out if you mess up. We all mess up, but try to do the best you can. We’ll be in awe of your mad word-smithing skills.
DOG TIP FOR LIFE
From Sparty: It’s easy to spell ‘bark.’ Don’t sweat the small stuff. We make mistakes. If you don’t hurt anyone, yourself or end up in jail, it’s probably all good.
SHOUT OUT
The music we’ve clipped and shortened in this podcast is awesome and is made available through the Creative Commons License. Here’s a link to that and the artist’s website. Who is this artist and what is this song? It’s “Night Owl” by Broke For Free.
THE ACTUAL PODCAST EPISODE ABOUT THIS.
If you feel like listening to our goofy selves, you can check it out here.