thank-you-ma'am love

thank-you-ma'am

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A bump or depression in a road.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From its causing the head to nod as though in acknowledgment of a favor.]

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Examples

  • It was a "thank-you-ma'am" in the middle of the road that caused

    Dorothy Dainty's Gay Times Amy Brooks

  • She did not know till much later that owing to the thank-you-ma'am which they reached simultaneously with the word "suddenly" that when

    I've Married Marjorie Margaret Widdemer 1931

  • Thus we do not believe that she willfully drove over every rut and thank-you-ma'am on the road, scattering us generously over the tonneau, and finally, when Aggie, who was the lighter, was tossed against the top and sprained her neck, eliciting a protest from us.

    Tish 1916

  • Thus we do not believe that she willfully drove over every rut and thank-you-ma'am on the road, scattering us generously over the tonneau, and finally, when

    Tish Mary Roberts Rinehart 1917

  • Offshore, with Washington in control of the global seas and skies, with its ability to kick down the world's doors and strike just about anywhere without a by-your-leave or thank-you-ma'am, it hopes for better.

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Tom Engelhardt 2012

Comments

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  • A hollow or rut across a road that causes the people in a vehicle passing over it to nod involuntarily, the way one might do in acknowledging a favor and expressing thanks.

    The alternate spelling thank'ee-marm is also used.

    July 30, 2008