# right ho



## Mag M

Hi,
I have a question about the expression "right ho." It appears in a book by PG Wodehouse - "Right ho, Jeeves." Having looked through a number of dictionary entries, I suppose it is a kind of exclamation.
Thanks for your help,
MM


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## dn88

Don't you ever underestimate the power of Google! 



> *Interjection*
> 
> *righto*
> 
> 
> (colloquial, chiefly UK) okay
> *Alternative forms*
> 
> 
> 
> right-ho
> rightio
> right-oh


SOURCE


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## ><FISH'>

Yes it is an exclamation of sorts, but it is not used in normal speech. It is quite comical and strange, and the only contexts in which I can think of it being used are comedic and satirical ones. Either that or an exaggerated historical piece. Nobody will ever use this term seriously.


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## Ben Jamin

><FISH'> said:


> Yes it is an exclamation of sorts, but it is not used in normal speech. It is quite comical and strange, and the only contexts in which I can think of it being used are comedic and satirical ones. Either that or an exaggerated historical piece. Nobody will ever use this term seriously.


 You mean nowadays? But it was used in earlier times?


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## ><FISH'>

It would seem likely that it was used commonly in the past given that it's a well-known phrase and there exist derivatives of it. Even in the past it would only have been used by upper-class gentleman, hence its status as a comedic phrase in modern times.


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## NotNow

In the U.S., these are often used by people who are trying to speak with a British accent.  Some Americans think a Brirtish accent is comical.  I have no idea why.


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## BezierCurve

Must be John Cleece with his fellows and people alike, who spread the best of the British sense of humour.


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## Ben Jamin

NotNow said:


> In the U.S., these are often used by people who are trying to speak with a British accent. Some Americans think a Brirtish accent is comical. I have no idea why.


 It is a common phenomenon that a language close to ours, but somehow different is perceived as comical (for example Poles and Czechs laugh from each other´s language). For me the exaggerated "Oxford accent" is comical, but the "Estuary accent" just ugly. Such views are, of course subjective, and other people may find beautiful what for others is comical or ugly.


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