Whoa!

[eveled]

Why do people still say Whoa? I notice it a lot when moving something, or towing something. People want you to stop, and yell whoa! Which sounds like Go!

Some will go back and forth from Whoa to Go. If you're going to say Whoa shouldn't you also say Giddy up?

For the record I'm not judging, I'm guilty of it too. Whoa is the kind of word that is almost not a word, but a reactionary sound like Gasp.

 

[HAWKEYE#28]

Seems to me that "STOP" has a better ring to the issue...........Preceded by some form of abrupt epithat 8)

 

[Uncle Howie]

eveled-

You have valid points.

I grew up as a city kid, and even I say, "Whoa!"

Sorry, but I don't intend to stop now!

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Whoa is a less harsh form of STOP. Whoa rolls off the tongue without any harsh intend. Stop on the other hand sounds harsh and commanding, like what a cop would say to someone.

 

[arfmel]

"Whoa" was used as a term of disbelief or amazement when I was a kid, back in the early 70s.

 

[Fox Mike]

When I growing up it was what we said to stop "Ole Bill" our plow horse. Today it is what I say to stop my wife when she is backing the car up; a task she should never do alone. :shock: :shock:

 

[eveled]

I feel your pain. When my wife is backing into the driveway the safest place to stand is in the driveway. The lawn is the danger zone.

 

[gasbag]

The only time I ever said 'Whoa' was when I was on a horse.
A little bit of reins and a gentle 'whoa' and we stopped.
Oddly enough it doesn't work when driving my car.

 

[WAYNO]

Horse lingo is sometimes different than people lingo.

Giddyup, whoa, gee and haw is what a horse is taught.

If you say, go, or stop or left or right, the horse just wont respond.

So when I hear whoa, I respond by stopping, without a second thought. Just old school lingo.

And you can apply different inflection to whoa. A long drawn out whoa means that's enough. A quick whoa means stop right now. Whoa is used often in heavy rigging tasks or when backing a trailer. Funny...When moving a heavy object horizontally, when anybody on the job calls whoa, everybody else on the job will then echo whoa!

So maybe this word has stuck around only in certain occupations, or maybe only even regionally.

 

[Bob Wright]

Comes from talking with mules.

Bob Wright

 

[nekvermont]

If you yell WHOA at an oarsman will he go faster?

 

[Bob Wright]

If you yell WHOA at an oarsman will he go faster?

Only if they have a speech impediment!

Bob Wright

 

[SR1911SHOOTER]

Giddy Up! Gee! Haw! Whoa, you stupid mule!

 

[32shooter]

When I say Whoa, I mean Whoa!!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYiCP1kxL1E

 

[GuyPike]

Around here we say, "Arretez!" for whoa.

 

[gramps]

Around here we say, "Arretez!" for whoa.

Huh?
gramps

 

[GuyPike]

French community Papere!

 

[eveled]

Just hope I take a french horse.

 

[GuyPike]

The dogs seem to be bilingual and my granfathers work horses always seemed to understand!

 

[Jeepnik]

Usually when I get to the point of speaking to inanimate objects the language is a "bit" stronger than whoa. It may not do any good in dealing with the inanimate object, but it sure makes me feel better.