Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

son of a gun

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.79 in modern English

Syllables: son of a -gun
IPA

13

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

noun

Used encouragingly or to compliment.

intj

Used to express anger, contempt, disgust, astonishment, disappointment, etc.

Example Sentences

"That son of a gun stole my wallet!"
"A plaugue tauke dee, dou damn’d Shon of a Gun, de Deevil carry dee away alive for me; […]"
"You Apollo's son, You're a son of a gun"
"Why, I say, old feller, what a happy feller I once thought you, and what a miserable son of a gun you really are!"
""Why, Job, you old son of a gun, where the deuce have we got to now - eh?""
"I don't break, I can hold the chrome / And it's weighing a ton and I'm a son of a gun"

Etymology

Euphemistic variant of son of a bitch. There are folk etymologies suggesting nautical origins, such as a reference to the disputed parentage of a child born aboard a ship (between the guns), or a child fathered by a soldier (also referred to as a "gun"). However, these etymologies are not supported by evidence.

Inflected Forms

sons of guns (plural)

Phrases

I'll be a son of a gun son-of-a-gun stew

Questions

What does son of a gun mean?: son of a bitch
Where does son of a gun come from?: Euphemistic variant of son of a bitch. There are folk etymologies suggesting nautical origins, such as a reference to the disputed parentage of a child born aboard a ship (between the guns), or a child fathered by a soldier (also referred to as a "gun"). However, these etymologies are not supported by evidence.

How to pronounce son of a gun

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