Lawks
Full definition of lawks
Interjection
- (UK, dialectical) Lord! especially as an expression of surprise
- 1850:""Lawks! how uncomfortable," said the cook. "And M. Henri, was he wet too?" — La Vendée, Anthony Trollope
- 1988: ""Your civic pride does you credit," said Hwel. "And now, please, leave the cart. I'm sure you've got some wood to gather. Lawks."" — Wyrd Sisters,
- 2000:"Only Philippa Chapple is unconvincing as the housekeeper Mrs Grose, too much of a stereotypical hand-wringer to take seriously... I expected her to say "Lawks!" at any moment." — Review of The Turn of The Screw, Tim Richards http://www.stageleft.com.au/turn.html
- 2002:""Lawks!" he said. "What a peculiar notion!" — Cousins Part IV -- In Which Merry Learns An In Interesting Truth http://www.tolkienonline.com/reading_room/comments.cfm?Item_ID=6839&Item_Type=articles
Usage notes
This is a stereotypical utterance of a Cockney house-servant in literature, particularly 19th-century and early 20th-century literature, but by the end of the 20th century its use had become primarily ironic outside of historical fiction.