anyhow whack

English

Etymology

From anyhow (“carelessly”) +‎ whack (“to attempt something blindly”, Singapore English), the latter a semantic loan from Malay hentam (“to strike; to do something carelessly”).

Pronunciation

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): /ˈɛnihaʊ ˈwæk/, [ˈɛ˧.ni˦.haʊ˦ ˈwɛk̚˦], [-˦˧]

Verb

anyhow whack (usually invariable)

1. (Singapore, Singlish) To do something hastily or randomly without real consideration or planning.

   Synonyms: (Singlish) whack, just whack

   • 2007 September 17, “Composite Functions – Anyhow Whack Time!”, in exampaper.com.sg‎^[1]:

     Miss Loi always tells her students not to anyhow whack, stay calm and know thy approach before attempting each question.

   • 2017 August 25, Toh Ee Ming, quoting Christine Lee, “Self-control, group support help diabetic patients to manage disease”, in Today‎^[2], Mediacorp Publications, archived from the original on 19 September 2024:

     She also makes it her personal mission to advocate healthy eating to strangers she shares a table with at food courts. “(I do so because) I feel sorry for them. I used to be like them, ‘anyhow eat, anyhow whack’, never thinking of the consequences. Some will thank me, but some laugh it off,” she said.

   • 2021 July 20, anonymous author, “How do durian sellers determine the prices of the different varieties?”, in seedly.sg:

     Imo some durians look the same. Today MSW $18, tomorrow it's $20. How do sellers decide the price? Like anyhow whack one.

2. (Singapore, Singlish) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see anyhow,‎ whack.