You’re probably wondering, “come on Duncan Funk, what’s so great about this word “juhbuh?” Well Mr. I-Am-Skeptical, it’s what I like to call an all-purpose word – it can be used in many different ways. It can be used to express surprise, confusion, or bewilderment, or it can be an affirmation, or it can be used when there’s just nothing better to say. And frankly, it’s just plain fun. Come, let’s explore some of its uses.
Confusion or Bewilderment: something happens, or somebody says something that just doesn’t quite compute, and your reaction might otherwise be along the lines of “huh?”, “excuse me?”, “WTF,” or the very pedestrian “say what?” In this sense, it always would be said in a tone of voice that, if written out, would include a question mark. Juhbuh? The more odd or strange the thing that triggered the reaction, the more question marks you would employ, either in your writing or your tone of voice. If it was something very minor – for example you just didn’t hear what someone said, a simple “juhbuh?” would suffice. But it was something that was really bizarre, you might say “juhbuh??????” And if you were so moved, you could even draw out the pronunciation: juuhhhbuuhhh????
An affirmation: There are all different kinds of affirmations, but when the need arises, you don’t need a brand new word. “Juhbuh” will suffice just fine. There’s the simple affirmation, like when a waitress asks you if you’d like some more coffee. You can just say “juhbuh,” and there’s no need for any special punctuation mark, either in your writing or your speaking – a period will do just fine. (But say it with just a hint of a smile so she knows you’re being friendly.) But sometimes there is a definite need for a more intense affirmation. Let’s say something happens that you really like, or somebody says something that you really agree with. You can still say juhbuh, but you’ll want to add an exclamation mark. And the more you want to affirm something, the more exclamation marks you’ll put in your voice. “I just won ten thousand dollars? Juhbuh!!!!!” And here there might even be a little more emphasis on the “buh.” And it’s even okay to bastardize it a little, as long as you use common sense. For example, we all like pudding – who doesn’t? But let’s say you REALLY like pudding, and out of the blue, somebody asks you if you’d like some pudding. It’d be perfectly okay to say “juh-freakin’-buh!!” (But if your first inclination would be to say “juh-pudding-buh,” well, you’re just not getting a feel for this yet.)
Nothing better to say: it works here too. But here you can add a little twist. You don’t say it with great feeling or expression, but you can say it multiple times. Let’s say somebody says to you “nice weather we’ve been having.” Well, you don’t really give a crap, but you don’t want to be rude, and you want to acknowledge them, so you can just say “oh juhbuh, juhbuh, juhbuh.” And you might even say it so fast, that it sounds like you’re skipping some letters, like “oh j’buh, j’buh, j’buh.” That’s okay!
So are we straight here? Let’s all try to incorporate it into our every day language, and before you know it, I bet you’ll be hearing it a lot. And wouldn’t that be swell? Oh, juhbuh!
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If you’ve checked your watch, you know that it’s time for Our Duncan Funk Song of the Day. I don’t want to unnecessarily flatter myself, but I like to think that, just maybe, the “something good” that Mr. Dylan will be singing about is, in fact, our new word: jubbuh. Well sir, is it? Click on the title to see the video.
Title: Something Good This Way Comes
Artist: Jakob Dylan
Album: Seeing Things
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