Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun obsolete A
chorus ofsorrow ordistress - interjection obsolete A cry of
sorrow ordistress
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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And with that there comes a voice crying pillaloo in the passage outside; and, without so much as a knock, a woman runs in with a face like a sheet -- Sam Hockaday's wife, from the "Sailor's Return."
News from the Duchy Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch 1903
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Dr. Macann and Mr. Saule behind it bowing and smiling in a two-horse shay, and a fine pillaloo of supporters.
Two Sides of the Face Midwinter Tales Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch 1903
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So you may fancy the pillaloo that went up when the Overseers posted their new assessment on the church door and 'twas found they'd ruled out no less than sixty voters known, or suspected to be, in Dr. Macann's interest.
Two Sides of the Face Midwinter Tales Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch 1903
mollusque commented on the word pillaloo
Irish English: alas! woe!; a cry of distress, a howl; an uproar.
April 6, 2008
bilby commented on the word pillaloo
Woe! The price of potatoes has increased! My pet leprechaun has bunions! They're bringing in a tax on the colour green! Alas!
February 23, 2009
sionnach commented on the word pillaloo
As it appears in the chorus of the well-known Irish song "Tá an poc ar buile" (The billygoat (puck) is hopping mad!):
"Aililiú, puililiú! Ai-li-liú!
Tá an poc ar buile!"
What can we deduce about the distribution of vowels before and after consonants in Gaelic from the above snippet?
February 23, 2009
actung commented on the word pillaloo
Apparently began as a hunting cry. http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-pil2.htm
June 11, 2012