Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

no soap

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.18 in modern English

Syllables: no -soap
IPA

8

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

phrase

It is (or was) a failure.

Dated; Slang

Example Sentences

"I went back down to the men's room on the second floor and yelled his name in front of the private apartments, but no soap."
"I waited for his assistance but it didn't come. He let me trail for I don't know how long. I hollered and cried, cursed, rocked the boat. No soap."
"I rang. Nothing happened. I rang again and leaned on it. No soap."
"Still and all, after weighing the pluses and minuses of Smooth's offer, he came, to the only possible conclusion for a civilized man—no soap."
"And he tried again—Lou always persisted—but no soap."

Etymology

The phrase appears, with no clear meaning, in a 1755 Samuel Foote nonsense prose poem, "The Grand Panjandrum". In the U.S., soap took on the meaning of money (see OED), and so no soap was a denial of money, say in response to a request for some.

Usage

Dated
Slang

Synonyms

no joy nothing doing

Questions

What does no soap mean?: It is (or was) a failure.
Where does no soap come from?: The phrase appears, with no clear meaning, in a 1755 Samuel Foote nonsense prose poem, "The Grand Panjandrum". In the U.S., soap took on the meaning of money (see OED), and so no soap was a denial of money, say in response to a request for some.

How to pronounce no soap

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “no soap”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “no soap”.
Repeat and practice — Say “no soap” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.