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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

stone the crows en · INTJ

Pronunciation

Etymology

Originally Australian English of 1910s, "referring to the former occupation of watching over cornfields and stoning crows that attempt to plunder the crop."

Meanings

  1. (Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, colloquial) Generalized expression of surprise or amazement, or just for emphasis.
    • So I says to meself: stone the crows, I′m a doomed man, might as well shoot through. It was cyclone time, see, and there′s been flash floods and this rock as big as a house has gone. 1988, Janette Turner Hospital, Charades, page 63:
    • The he pinched himself to make sure he was really awake, "Stone the crows!" he said softly. "Stone the crows!" 1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 141:
    • “Why, stone the crows! I′ll look yous up,” sez ′e. / “I need some friends: I ain′t got wife nor chick.” 1924, C. J. Dennis, “Rose Of Spadgers”, in Sentimental Bloke and Other Verses, published 1988, page 86:
    • ‘Stone the crows,’ I whispered in sheer relief. 2008, Norman Jorgensen, Jack′s Island, ReadHowYouWant, published 2011, page 170:

Synonyms

stone me (expression of surprise) · holy cow (expression of surprise)