Oh, wow ! How do you call this statement if used repeatedly (2025)

Hi,

If someone says 'Oh, wow !' in almost every satement that they make, how do you call such an utterance of which the speaker may or may not be aware.
In Dutch it is called a ******** Dutch-English dictionary translates it as a filler word. But I think that is not really correct.
If it was a physical condition such as an involuntary movement, I would call it a 'twitch'.
What is the proper English term?

Thanks.

Hi owlman5,

'Verbal tic' might be a little bit strong word for it.
It is more like using 'Oh, wow' unappropriately without really giving any thought. It just comes out automatically.
For example, someone is showing a house that is up for sale. The agent might say : this is the living room. The other person would then say 'Oh, wow'.
Now, the person may actually like it and then the statement is appropriate. Later on the agent says : And this is the kitchen. Now, the kitchen is very outdated and looks very shabby. But, the person still says 'Oh, wow! without giving any thought. And this goes on and on for the rest of the house.
Do you know, what I mean?
It is very annoying to hear 'Oh, wow' all the time.

I'd call it a verbal crutch or filler word(s). This thread might be of use:

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=658279

"Tic" is a good word. In my writing, I have a tendency to point out that things are "wonderful," for instance; three times in one chapter I had sentences like "In a wonderful article, X argues that..." That's a verbal tic.

You could also say that a phrase is a "crutch." That's a little more pejorative, if you're looking for that.

Miss Julie's suggestion of verbal crutch for this interjection might fit.
Here's one definition:
"Crutch words are those expressions we pepper throughout our language as verbal pauses, and sometimes as written ones, to give us time to think, to accentuate our meaning (even when we do so mistakenly), or just because these are the words that have somehow lodged in our brains and come out on our tongues the most, for whatever reason." (http://www.theatlanticwire.com/ente...y-what-your-crutch-word-says-about-you/56614/)

But I don't think this really fits oh wow!A filler is something different (e.g. the repeated use of you know).Perhaps you could give us another one of these expressions?

sqlines said:

Hi owlman5,

'Verbal tic' might be a little bit strong word for it.
It is more like using 'Oh, wow' unappropriately without really giving any thought. It just comes out automatically.
For example, someone is showing a house that is up for sale. The agent might say : this is the living room. The other person would then say 'Oh, wow'.
Now, the person may actually like it and then the statement is appropriate. Later on the agent says : And this is the kitchen. Now, the kitchen is very outdated and looks very shabby. But, the person still says 'Oh, wow! without giving any thought. And this goes on and on for the rest of the house.
Do you know, what I mean?
It is very annoying to hear 'Oh, wow' all the time.

Click to expand...

If you're looking for something mild, sqlines, Miss Julie's "filler words" is probably the mildest term English can provide for annoying phrases that don't really mean anything. I wouldn't worry about being polite when describing them. To me, that would be something like applying lipstick to a pig.