'ark at 'ee

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English

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Etymology

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From hark (listen) + at + 'ee (variant of ye) or he (third-person singular); imitative of the pronunciation used by some natives of Bristol and the West Country of England.

Pronunciation

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Phrase

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'ark at 'ee

  1. (Bristol and West Country, informal) Listen to you; listen to yourself; listen to it.
    • 1995, Brian Jacques, The Outcast of Redwall: A Tale from Redwall (A Tale of Redwall; 8), London: Hutchinson, →ISBN; republished as Outcast of Redwall, London: Red Fox, 2007, →ISBN, book 3 (The Warrior’s Reckoning), page 305:
      ‘Look at that water! No wonder Duddle said he wouldn’t dare take the raft down this way; it’s dreadful!’ / Togget pointed ahead. ‘Yurr oi think et wursens yonder, ’ark at ee roaren et makes!’
    • 2013, Ben Gwalchmai, chapter 15, in Purefinder, Lanham, Md.: John Hunt Publishing, →ISBN:
      ‘Is that you … Bristol George?’ / ‘Ark at ’ee – Bristol George, hah! Jus’ George, laaad jus’ George.’
  2. (Bristol and West Country, informal) Used to draw attention to something or someone.
    • 2012 March 29, Emma Kasprzak, “Yeah but no but: Is the Bristol accent gert lush?”, in BBC News[1], archived from the original on 6 July 2017:
      Then a lady came into the shop and saw the T-shirts and said ‘ark at ee’ so that was the next one we did.
    • 2014 February 4, “Jooohn Ag”, “Failed Charity Boss Announces 2014 Tour! Unionised Workers Not Invited!”, in The Bristolian[2], archived from the original on 22 October 2017:
      Ark at ee, it’s our old friend MARK ‘NOT THAT ONE’ OWEN, the moribund boss of troubled equine charity HorseWorld!

Translations

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