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Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

A Way with Words, a radio show and podcast about language and linguistics.

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hemming and hawing
noah little
33 Posts
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2009/04/29 - 7:41am
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Hey there,

Today as I wrote to someone that I would probably "hem and haw" over a certain decision, I wondered where the heck that expression came from. Does it have anything to do with hems? Like how someone might finger a hem as they go back and forth trying to decide something? "Hawing" doesn't bring up anything for me though, except as part of "hee haw" (laugh out loud? bad tv from long ago?). For the decision-challenged it's certainly nothing to hee haw about? wink

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2009/04/29 - 7:05pm
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Think of sounds people might make (or might have made at one time) while considering what to say. Michael Quinion has written about the phrase here: http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-hem1.htm

Also at Word Detective: http://www.word-detective.com/2008/10/07/hem-and-haw/

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