zutinterjection
Factsheet
What does the interjection zut mean?
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the interjection zut. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
Entry status
OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.
How common is the interjection zut?
| 1910 | 0.012 |
| 1920 | 0.012 |
| 1930 | 0.011 |
| 1940 | 0.011 |
| 1950 | 0.011 |
| 1960 | 0.0095 |
| 1970 | 0.0082 |
| 1980 | 0.0078 |
| 1990 | 0.0073 |
| 2000 | 0.0065 |
| 2010 | 0.0062 |
How is the interjection zut pronounced?
British English
Where does the interjection zut come from?
Earliest known use
1910s
The earliest known use of the interjection zut is in the 1910s.
OED's earliest evidence for zut is from 1915, in a letter by Wilfred Owen, poet.
zut is a borrowing from French.
Nearby entries
- Zuñi, n.1834–
- zunyite, n.1885–
- zuppa, n.1961–
- Zurich, n.1870–
- Zuricher, n.1673–
- zurla, n.1940–
- zurlite, n.1826–
- zurna, n.1870–
- zurr, n.1803–
- zussmanite, n.1965–
- zut, int.1915–
- zuur-veldt, n.1785–
- zuz, n.1688–
- zwanziger, n.1828–
- Zweig, n.1973–
- zwieback, n.1894–
- zwieselite, n.1861–
- Zwinglian, n. & adj.1532–
- Zwinglianism, n.1581–
- Zwinglianist, n.1673–1759
- zwischenzug, n.1941–
Etymology
Summary
Meaning & use
- 1915–An exclamation expressing annoyance, contempt, impatience, etc.
- 1915
For Gautier... Zut! I never read him.
W. Owen, Letter 25 July (1967) 350 - 1923
‘Well, what if I am?’ she said, rebelliously. ‘Zut!.. Why shouldn't I?’
W. J. Locke, Moordius & Co. ix. 129 - 1967
If his own wife read such trash as the Professor's, he reflected, zut! he'd have something to say.
‘R. Petrie’, Foreign Bodies ii. 23 - 1980
Zut! Come without your gun, or do not come at all.
A. Hunter, Honfleur Decision x. 136
- prut?c1300–1887An exclamation of contempt, disbelief, etc.
- trutc1330–1440An exclamation of contempt.
- truptc1380An exclamation expressing contempt. Cf. tprot, int.
- ahaa1400–Expressing triumph, satisfaction, realization, discovery, or (now rarely) mockery or irony. Cf. ah, int. A.3, A.4, ha, int. A.1b.
- tushc1440–An exclamation of impatient contempt or disparagement.
- puff1481–Representing the act of blowing a puff of air, smoke, etc., or of exhaling breath in a pant or gasp; expressing sudden appearance or disappearance…
- quotha?1520–Used with contemptuous, ironic, or sarcastic force after repeating words said by someone else: ‘he said?’, ‘she said?’; (hence) ‘indeed!’ (indeed…
- ah?1526–Expressing dislike, aversion, or contempt; (also) mockery or satisfaction at another's misfortune.
- ta ha1528A derisive exclamation.
- twish1577–82An exclamation of contempt or vexation.
- blurt1592–1606Expressing contempt or disdain. Cf. blurt, v. 2. Obsolete.
- gip1592–1660An expression of surprise, derision, or contempt addressed to a person; = ‘get out’, ‘go along with you’.
- pish1592–Expressing contempt, impatience, or disgust. Also (reduplicated) pish pish.
- tantia1593–Of so much value, worth so much; worth while. Formerly also as an exclamation of contempt or depreciation: So much for…!
- (God) bless (also save) the mark and variants: an exclamatory phrase, probably originally serving as a formula to avert an evil omen, and hence…
- phah1593An exclamation expressing contempt or disgust.
- marry come up1597–In phrases. marry come up: expressing indignant or amused surprise or contempt.
- mew1600–Expressing derision. Now archaic.
- pooh1600–Expressing impatience, contempt, disdain, etc. Cf. phew, int., pho, int., phoo, int. 1, poof, int. A.1.
- marry muff1602–13Expressing derision or contempt, or used for emphasis. In quot. 1613 used as the name of a derided character.
- pew waw1602–39= pew, int.
- ptish1602–An exclamation of contempt or disdain. Also as n.: an utterance of this.
- pew1604–Expressing contempt, disgust, or derision. Cf. pooh, int., phew, int.
- push1605–1735Expressing contempt, impatience, or disgust; = pish, int., tush, int. Also (reduplicated) push push.
- pshaw1607–Expressing contempt, impatience, or disgust, or used to depreciate or dismiss some statement or notion.
- tuh1607–An exclamation expressing disgust or disdain.
- pea1608Expressing impatience or contempt; = pooh, n. A.1.
- poh1650–1852intransitive. To utter the word or sound ‘poh’; to express contempt in this manner; in early use frequently in to pish and poh (cf. pish, v. 1). In…
- pooh pooh1694–= pooh, int. B.1.
- hoity-toity1695–An exclamation expressing surprise with some degree of contempt, esp. at words or actions considered to show flightiness or undue assumption.
- highty-tighty1699–Expressing contemptuous surprise or annoyance; = hoity-toity, int. Now rare.
- indeed1834–As an interjection, expressing (according to the intonation) irony, contempt, amazement, incredulity, or the like.
- shucks1847–In plural as an int. (shucks!), expressing surprise, regret, irritation, or, in response to praise, self-deprecation. See also aw shucks, int.
- skidoo1906–In catchphrases. Used as an exclamation of disrespect (for a person). Esp. in nonsense association with twenty-three. (temporary.)
- suck1913–plural as int. Used as an expression of contempt, chiefly by children. Also in sucks to you and variants slang.
- zut1915–An exclamation expressing annoyance, contempt, impatience, etc.
- yah boo1921–An exclamation of scorn or derision. Also attributive and transferred.
- quoz1926–An odd or ridiculous person or thing; (with plural agreement) people or things of this kind. Also as int.: expressing incredulity or contempt. Cf…
- pooey1927–An expression of distaste, revulsion, derision, or contempt, esp. used by or in imitation of children. Cf. pooh, int., phooey, int.
- ptui1930–Representing the sound of a person spitting; (hence) expressing disgust or contempt: ‘Pah!’ ‘Pshaw!’.
- snubs1934–plural. As int., expressing total indifference or contempt. slang.
- upya1941–Used to express contemptuous rejection. Cf. up yours at up, prep.² phrases I.3b and upyer, int.
- yah boo sucks1980–Used similarly.
- aye, right1991–Chiefly Scottish and Irish English (northern). colloquial. aye, right: used ironically to express contempt or incredulity with respect to a…
- peste1768–intransitive. To curse angrily; to exclaim peste! Now only as int.: an exclamation of annoyance.
- botheration1787–Expressing annoyance, frustration, or exasperation. Now somewhat archaic or euphemistic (cf. buggeration, int.).
- bother it!1798–Also bother it! Used as a mild expletive, expressing annoyance or exasperation: ‘damn’, ‘blast’; cf. botheration, int. Also (in earlier use)…
- for Pete's sake1903–With capital initial. In various exclamatory phrases (chiefly as a euphemistic replacement for god), expressing exasperation or annoyance, as for P…
- for the love of Pete1903–With capital initial. In various exclamatory phrases (chiefly as a euphemistic replacement for god), expressing exasperation or annoyance, as for P…
- hell's teeth1909–= hell's bells, int.
- zut1915–An exclamation expressing annoyance, contempt, impatience, etc.
- wouldn't it?1940–Australian and New Zealand slang. wouldn't it?: an exclamation of annoyance and disgust or (less usually) amusement. Now rare.
- Now somewhat archaic. In imprecations invoking pestilence or misfortune upon a person or thing, as murrain on (also of, meet) them (also him, it,…
- Now somewhat archaic. In imprecations invoking pestilence or misfortune upon a person or thing, as murrain on (also of, meet) them (also him, it,…
- how a murrain1575Now somewhat archaic. In imprecations invoking pestilence or misfortune upon a person or thing, as murrain on (also of, meet) them (also him, it,…
- twish1577–82An exclamation of contempt or vexation.
- highty-tighty1699–Expressing contemptuous surprise or annoyance; = hoity-toity, int. Now rare.
- pilule1889–A pill; a small pill; (in later use) esp. a homeopathic one. Also figurative. Also in plural as int., expressing exasperation (obsolete).
- zut1915–An exclamation expressing annoyance, contempt, impatience, etc.
Pronunciation
British English
Consonants
- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence
Vowels
- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)
Other symbols
- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
View the pronunciation model here.
Frequency
zut typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.
zut is in frequency band 2, which contains words occurring between 0.001 and 0.01 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency of zut, int., 1910–2010
* Occurrences per million words in written English
Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.
The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.
For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.
Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.
| Decade | Frequency per million words |
|---|---|
| 1910 | 0.012 |
| 1920 | 0.012 |
| 1930 | 0.011 |
| 1940 | 0.011 |
| 1950 | 0.011 |
| 1960 | 0.0095 |
| 1970 | 0.0082 |
| 1980 | 0.0078 |
| 1990 | 0.0073 |
| 2000 | 0.0065 |
| 2010 | 0.0062 |