dun dun dun en · INTJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈdʌn ˌdʌn ˈdʌn/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- (General-American) audio
Etymology
An onomatopoeic representation of a three-note dramatic sting (“short musical phrase”). See the Wikipedia article for details of its origin.
Meanings
-
(informal) Used as a dramatic pause, or to emphasize that something is frightening, thrilling, etc.
In the movie [RoboCop (1987)], central Detroit is "Old Detroit." […] When police officer Alex Murphy starts his term in Old Detroit, his fellow officers tell him, "Welcome to hell." / Dun dun dun.
2012, Mike Draper, “Will the Last One out of the Midwest just Remember to Extinguish the Tire Fire?”, in The Midwest: God’s Gift to Planet Earth!: An Illustrated Guide to the History and Culture of the Galaxy’s most Important Region, Des Moines, Iowa: Raygun, →ISBN, part 5 (We’re #1 by a Wider Margin than Usual!), page 192:I am not going to tell you the exact locations of my stops, but my final destination (dun dun dun) is London, England. It is there that I will figure out my life purpose.
2006, H. M. Leathem, chapter 3, in W.T.F.?: What Is Wrong with Tom Faerie, Lincoln, Neb.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 22:"All right—dun, dun, dun! Time to get measured, hon." Luke tried to play off the seriousness of my weekly face-to-face with my own potential unworthiness to be a model with this little bit, but it made me feel even worse, thinking about how many empty calories in champagne and vodka I'd slurped down since I last saw him, […]
2007, Amanda Kerlin, Phil Oh, chapter 5, in Secrets of the Model Dorm, New York, N.Y.: Washington Square Press, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 53:
Relateds
Translations (2)
fi tan-tan-tan (used as a dramatic pause, or to emphasize that something is frightening, thrilling, etc.) · mk тан-тан-тан (used as a dramatic pause, or to emphasize that something is frightening, thrilling, etc.)