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"Whoa" or "Woah"?


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Poll :: How do you spell it?

Whoa
78%
 78%  [ 25 ]
Woah
21%
 21%  [ 7 ]
Total Votes : 32


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Cameron
Title: :O � O:
Joined: Feb 01 2008
Location: St. Louis, MO
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 12:17 am Reply with quote Back to top

I was discussing with FigNewton and Palindox the proper spelling of:

I insisted upon "whoa" but FigNewton threatened to throw me through a plate glass window and Palindox threatened to throw me into a pit of fans so I thought I should poll the forums.


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Captain_Pollution
Title: Hugh
Joined: Sep 23 2007
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 12:22 am Reply with quote Back to top

"Whoa" is way too front-heavy. "Woah" is /balanced/, and as such /so/ much more aesthetically pleasing.


<Drew_Linky> Well, I've eaten vegetables all of once in my life.

 
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JoshWoodzy
Joined: May 22 2008
Location: Goshen, VA
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 12:24 am Reply with quote Back to top

It is "whoa". That is all.


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Cameron
Title: :O � O:
Joined: Feb 01 2008
Location: St. Louis, MO
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 12:27 am Reply with quote Back to top

Captain_Pollution wrote:
"Whoa" is way too front-heavy. "Woah" is /balanced/, and as such /so/ much more aesthetically pleasing.

Your mom is front-heavy


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Captain_Pollution
Title: Hugh
Joined: Sep 23 2007
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 12:28 am Reply with quote Back to top

Cameron wrote:
+FigNewton wrote:
"Whoa" is way too front-heavy. "Woah" is /balanced/, and as such /so/ much more aesthetically pleasing.

Your mom is front-heavy

Your /face/ is pretty front-heavy, now that my /fist/ is stuck in it!


<Drew_Linky> Well, I've eaten vegetables all of once in my life.

 
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JoshWoodzy
Joined: May 22 2008
Location: Goshen, VA
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 12:30 am Reply with quote Back to top

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LeshLush
Joined: Oct 19 2009
Location: Nashville, TN
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 12:40 am Reply with quote Back to top

This isn't a matter of opinion. "Whoa" is the correct spelling.
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Captain_Pollution
Title: Hugh
Joined: Sep 23 2007
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 12:47 am Reply with quote Back to top

If you don't like what you see, why don't you fight it? If you know there's something wrong, why don't you right it?


<Drew_Linky> Well, I've eaten vegetables all of once in my life.

 
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Drew Linky
Wizard
Joined: Jun 12 2009
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 01:08 am Reply with quote Back to top

I'd compare this to the "name of soda by region argument".

But it's "whoa".


https://discord.gg/homestuck is where you can find me literally 99% of the time. Stop on by if you feel like it, we're a nice crowd.
 
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username
Title: owner of a lonely heart
Joined: Jul 06 2007
Location: phoenix, az usa
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 03:53 am Reply with quote Back to top

its whoa.

wtf does too front heavy even mean on a word? that just sounds like a retarded argument.

NEXT


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Hacker
Banned
Joined: Sep 13 2008
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 04:20 am Reply with quote Back to top

I'd say whoa. Could just be how I pronounce it though.
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lavalarva
2011 SNES Champ
Joined: Dec 04 2006
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 07:52 am Reply with quote Back to top

I don't know if "whoa" is right, but "woah" looks so retardedly ugly that it's not even worth considering.
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Sarge
Title: The Self-Titler
Joined: Aug 14 2010
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 10:32 am Reply with quote Back to top

Whoa. Cut the shit FigNewton.


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Drew Linky
Wizard
Joined: Jun 12 2009
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 11:31 am Reply with quote Back to top

Sarge /enough/.


https://discord.gg/homestuck is where you can find me literally 99% of the time. Stop on by if you feel like it, we're a nice crowd.
 
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username
Title: owner of a lonely heart
Joined: Jul 06 2007
Location: phoenix, az usa
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 02:38 pm Reply with quote Back to top

lavalarva wrote:
I don't know if "whoa" is right, but "woah" looks so retardedly ugly that it's not even worth considering.

this


Klimbatize wrote:
I'll eat a turkey sandwich while blowing my load

 
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Beach Bum
Joined: Dec 08 2010
Location: At the pants party.
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 02:47 pm Reply with quote Back to top

I've seen it done both ways but prefer "Whoa" myself. Still it is a word I rarely use outside of speaking and it really wouldn't matter how it was spelled there.
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Captain_Pollution
Title: Hugh
Joined: Sep 23 2007
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 04:57 pm Reply with quote Back to top

"Whoa" is definitely the standard spelling, but "woah" is acceptable, too, and it's an interjection so spelling doesn't matter that much. Like 90% of the time I use it is in IRC. "Woah" is beautiful looking, though. "Whoa" starts off all big with the W and the tall line in the H, and then it just kind of peters out, whereas with "woah" it starts off the same, and then puts the more boring, plain-looking vowels in the middle, and then it finishes with the big H. "Whoa" is like a book of crossword puzzles, where you start off and it's fun, and you make it through the first bit, but then it's getting boring and you never finish it. That's what it looks like happened, the way the word is /structured/. "Woah," on the other hand, tells a whole story all by itself, and it keeps things fresh and interesting the whole way through. "Whoa," like a book of crossword puzzles, might be okay if you just go back to it every once in a while, but "woah" has the meat and depth to it that are required if you're going to actually enjoy it and really bask in it any amount of times.


<Drew_Linky> Well, I've eaten vegetables all of once in my life.

 
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lavalarva
2011 SNES Champ
Joined: Dec 04 2006
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 06:53 pm Reply with quote Back to top

"Whoa" sounds like it's loud at the start and slowly dies down. You know, what you do when you find something impressive.

"Woah" sounds like it quickly goes down and then inexplicably gets louder at the end. It's like you were impressed and then very surprised or afraid. But in that case, I'd say "Woa--AHHHHH" would be more appropriate.

And FigNewton, how could you ever doubt CamWin's tastes and opinions on anything?
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Preng
Title: All right, that's cool!
Joined: Jan 11 2010
Location: Accounting Dept.
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 07:44 pm Reply with quote Back to top

Captain_Pollution wrote:
"Whoa" is definitely the standard spelling, but "woah" is acceptable, too, and it's an interjection so spelling doesn't matter that much. Like 90% of the time I use it is in IRC. "Woah" is beautiful looking, though. "Whoa" starts off all big with the W and the tall line in the H, and then it just kind of peters out, whereas with "woah" it starts off the same, and then puts the more boring, plain-looking vowels in the middle, and then it finishes with the big H. "Whoa" is like a book of crossword puzzles, where you start off and it's fun, and you make it through the first bit, but then it's getting boring and you never finish it. That's what it looks like happened, the way the word is /structured/. "Woah," on the other hand, tells a whole story all by itself, and it keeps things fresh and interesting the whole way through. "Whoa," like a book of crossword puzzles, might be okay if you just go back to it every once in a while, but "woah" has the meat and depth to it that are required if you're going to actually enjoy it and really bask in it any amount of times.

You make some excellent points, my fine sir, but I would like to debate the alternative. Beauty is quite subjective, but I argue that "Whoa" better reflects modern art whilst "Woah" is, in my fair opinion, most outdated. We must also consider the weight that applies to this magnificent one-syllable word. In my experience, the interjection often does lose emphasis as it nears the end of its utterance. I believe "peters out" is a bit of a negative way of expressing that, but in most situations, I feel that "Whoa" most accurately transcribes the fleeting excitement or surprise that accompanies the word, whereas "Woah" sounds somewhat stilted in nature - as if the communicator is having trouble picking out the right words to express their awe or anxiety.

Truly, we must also consider the capitalized versions of both words. "WHOA" features no delays in describing the current situation, and most effectively gets the job done. Unfortunately, "WOAH" seems to suffer the same problems faced by its non-capitalized cousin. I would also like to point out that there may indeed be too much meat to the word. Well, to put it more accurately, it seems to be loaded with inedible gristle. So then you have to waste time cutting off the excess, but by this point you could have already uttered three or four "WHOAs." I would also like to add that "WOAH" makes conversations more complex because your audience may mistakenly believe you are talking about the World Organisation for Animal Health.

Both are excellent words, for sure. Yet for me, at the end of a long day, I prefer sitting back, relaxing, and enjoying an ice cold "whoa" or perhaps even a "WHOA" if the day has been especially taxing.

I do not like ending my posts with arguments, so let us take mutual joy in agreement that "waoh" (and its variant, "WAOH") is the unloved child of Merriam and Webster.
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The Opponent
Title: Forum Battle WINNER
Joined: Feb 24 2010
Location: The Danger Zone
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 08:23 pm Reply with quote Back to top

Oawh


I'm not a bad enough dude, but I am an edgy little shit. I'll do what I can.
 
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Bob Dylan`s Blues
Title: Worlds Strongest Man
Joined: Jun 08 2011
Location: Your nightmares
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 09:34 pm Reply with quote Back to top

While I agree that "woah" is like a good musical or comedic performance beginning and ending strong, my argument against it is that it simply looks retarded.
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Captain_Pollution
Title: Hugh
Joined: Sep 23 2007
PostPosted: Sep 11 2012 11:53 pm Reply with quote Back to top

Preng wrote:
Captain_Pollution wrote:
"Whoa" is definitely the standard spelling, but "woah" is acceptable, too, and it's an interjection so spelling doesn't matter that much. Like 90% of the time I use it is in IRC. "Woah" is beautiful looking, though. "Whoa" starts off all big with the W and the tall line in the H, and then it just kind of peters out, whereas with "woah" it starts off the same, and then puts the more boring, plain-looking vowels in the middle, and then it finishes with the big H. "Whoa" is like a book of crossword puzzles, where you start off and it's fun, and you make it through the first bit, but then it's getting boring and you never finish it. That's what it looks like happened, the way the word is /structured/. "Woah," on the other hand, tells a whole story all by itself, and it keeps things fresh and interesting the whole way through. "Whoa," like a book of crossword puzzles, might be okay if you just go back to it every once in a while, but "woah" has the meat and depth to it that are required if you're going to actually enjoy it and really bask in it any amount of times.

You make some excellent points, my fine sir, but I would like to debate the alternative. Beauty is quite subjective, but I argue that "Whoa" better reflects modern art whilst "Woah" is, in my fair opinion, most outdated. We must also consider the weight that applies to this magnificent one-syllable word. In my experience, the interjection often does lose emphasis as it nears the end of its utterance. I believe "peters out" is a bit of a negative way of expressing that, but in most situations, I feel that "Whoa" most accurately transcribes the fleeting excitement or surprise that accompanies the word, whereas "Woah" sounds somewhat stilted in nature - as if the communicator is having trouble picking out the right words to express their awe or anxiety.

Truly, we must also consider the capitalized versions of both words. "WHOA" features no delays in describing the current situation, and most effectively gets the job done. Unfortunately, "WOAH" seems to suffer the same problems faced by its non-capitalized cousin. I would also like to point out that there may indeed be too much meat to the word. Well, to put it more accurately, it seems to be loaded with inedible gristle. So then you have to waste time cutting off the excess, but by this point you could have already uttered three or four "WHOAs." I would also like to add that "WOAH" makes conversations more complex because your audience may mistakenly believe you are talking about the World Organisation for Animal Health.

Both are excellent words, for sure. Yet for me, at the end of a long day, I prefer sitting back, relaxing, and enjoying an ice cold "whoa" or perhaps even a "WHOA" if the day has been especially taxing.

I do not like ending my posts with arguments, so let us take mutual joy in agreement that "waoh" (and its variant, "WAOH") is the unloved child of Merriam and Webster.

I agree with the majority of your post, and I think that it elucidated an ambiguity in CamWin's question. Not to be a prude, but I do not believe that the "woah" I am envisioning is the same one of which you speak. The tenor of your post designates its subject matter to be a short, rather pococurante interjection, the likes of which Keanu Reeves demonstrates at approximately four seconds into the video ClamChin posted. Such a benighted articulation might perhaps explicate the incomplex formulations of an obstreperous and undisciplined consciousness, but for the sophisticated and refined cogitation that personages such as myself practise, only a longer, more colourful and elaborate "woah" will do. Plebeian /surprise/ is not suitably causative of cognitive excitement to elicit a "woah" from me. At about two seconds into CamFTW.com's video, Keanu Reeves masterfully explores the extent to which "woah" can show cognizance of the catechising of the universe. The virtuosity of thought present in a properly formulated "woah" should obtrude the "woah" not to etiolate but to systematically wander through the possibilities it is reconnoitering, and its inflections should show this anymore.


<Drew_Linky> Well, I've eaten vegetables all of once in my life.

 
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Drew Linky
Wizard
Joined: Jun 12 2009
PostPosted: Sep 12 2012 03:01 am Reply with quote Back to top

Whao.


https://discord.gg/homestuck is where you can find me literally 99% of the time. Stop on by if you feel like it, we're a nice crowd.
 
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bassguy252
Title: Professional Malcontent
Joined: May 26 2010
Location: Mount Dhoom!!!!!!!
PostPosted: Sep 12 2012 01:41 pm Reply with quote Back to top

Gentlemen, I would like to contend that Both are infact correct, Woah being a variant of Whoa. Both words are used quite heavily, Woah seems to be more popular in the UK and Whoa is definitely the "American Way" of spelling the word.


Let's assume it's a mixture of the two!


 
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Tomdincan
Title: Test Icicle
Joined: Oct 02 2010
Location: Temple Shalina
PostPosted: Sep 12 2012 07:08 pm Reply with quote Back to top

Woah looks like a talk radio station.


I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high-functioning sociopath.
 
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