PUKE (Synonyms: Barf, Upchuck, Hurl, Toss-the-cookies, Ride the Porcelain Bus, Blow Chunks, Burpin' Solid, Yack, Heave, Ralph (one of my personal favorites), Spew, Liquid Giggles, Disgorge)
As you can see, there are many ways of expressing the act of expelling ones slightly digested food. How Mom settled on one term, and why she limited our vocabulary to that term is far from clear. Let's examine, or digest if you will, the term "throw up".
First of all, "throw up" doesn't begin to describe what it is or what it feels looks or smells like. You could also use the same phrase in different contexts which creates confusion: ("Ben, can you throw up a carrot, some string, and a crutch?"). Using the word Puke, on the other hand, would have been so much more helpful and descriptive (the word Ralph, though occasionally being confused with a person or maybe a movie staring John Goodman, would be even better). Puke just sounds gross, it sounds like it would all of a sudden rack your body causing convulsions and expel itself. Not to mention the fact that words like Yack, Puke, and Barf have all been coined for one purpose, they are not sterile phrases conceived by non-offensive, non-imaginative (and probably French) women, but rather words created for the soul purpose of describing vomit (which is also a good word).
Puke, Barf, Upchuck, Hurl, Ralph, Disgorge, Earl, Cough cubes, Giggle chunks, Gargling gravy, Liberate your lunch, Liquid laughter, Paint the wall, Retch, Regurgitate, Solid scream, Bark'n up breakfast, Commode hugging, Giggle to Ralph over the porcelain intercom, Sing lunch, Technicolor yodel, Yell down the porcelain manhole, Toss a tiger, & Park the Buick. There, got it all out of my system.
4 comments:
One expression, completely devoid of unnecessary description, is sufficient to cover this occasional event. "Throw up" is understood in context, and yet it doesn't offend when used in another context ("Ben, can you throw up a carrot, some string, and a crutch?"). If a more technical term seems appropriate "vomit" is acceptable. I might consider "ralph" under duress.
I did find it strange that afternoon on Allendale Court when Peter from the roof asked me to "ride the porcelain bus" him a carrot, some string, and a crutch. To this day I don't know what my crazy older brother was talking about.
Mom, I don't like to think that you have no imagination but really, isn't "toss a tiger" a much better expression and also just as sanitary and contextual?
Mom said "contextual"!
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