This week’s word is...not a word. Or at least it isn’t in the strictest of senses. The interjection boh(pronounced just as it is written, “boh”) is commonly used to show uncertainty, indifference, even reticence about a specific topic or situation.This is what our beloved Accademia della Crusca teaches us.

Finding “boh”’s etymology can be tricky, because it’s not really a word in itself: “boh” it’s more of a sound, a way to emphasize a thought and a lack of interest in what we are saying or listening to. Indeed, if we really want to talk about etymology, we could say “boh” comes from the sounds many of us make when we want to express doubt.