Pssst! (Usage as a verb)

Question

If you are in a quiet place and someone wants to get your attention by making the 'psst!' noise, how would you write this?

Does the following work?

"She heard a soft 'psst!' from somewhere in the basement shadows".

Is there a verb which properly articulates 'psst' without having to write it out?

There are reasonable numbers of examples of this and similar expressions on the internet (heard a 'Psst!', heard an 'Ouch!', heard a 'Whoa!', heard a 'Stop!' (note that 'Psst' is a 'soft exclamation'). — Edwin Ashworth, Oct 15 '16 at 19:32
Well, I'd suggest that you NOT say "He 'psst' in the basement shadows." — Hot Licks, Oct 15 '16 at 20:12
@HotLicks “He psst!ed in the basement shadows” is fine, though. — Janus Bahs Jacquet, Oct 16 '16 at 10:08

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 17 '16 at 01:25

I can't say whether it fits your particular threshold for "wordness", but psst has itself seen use as a verb:

I was just rounding the fourth-floor landing when Claudia pssted at me from my mother's door (Dale Peck The Garden of Lost and Found, 2015)

“Oh my God.” Someone pssted next to Bree, shoving their phone into their neighbour's lap. “Have you SEEN this?" (Holly Bourne The Manifesto on How to be Interesting, 2014)

This happened to me on more than one occasion, being “pssted” at, and all I could do was smile, nod my head, and continue with my novice picking. (Russell Zanca Life in a Muslim Uzbek Village: Cotton Farming After Communism CSCA, 2010)

It was not just men psst, psst-ing at women. Men psst, psst-ed at men. Women psst, psst-ed at men. One day an older woman psst, psst-ed to ask if I would hold her arm and help her cross the street. (Lea Aschkenas Es Cuba: Life and Love on an Illegal Island, 2006)

These examples are fairly representative, but not exhaustive. There are also examples from the greater web, including a pssting hashtag.

This does seem to be a relatively recent usage; I didn't find any reliable hits in Google Books for pssted or pssting before the 21st century. There also doesn't seem to be any standardization of exactly how to write these—in "dubious quotes", hyphenated, or just plain verbed.

With all of these caveats in mind, I think the meaning is quite clear, especially in print, and the usage does seem to have at least a toehold, so if it works in your particular context I think it would be fine.

BladorthinTheGrey · Answer 2 · 2016-10-16T10:19:56.680

1

Hiss is both an appropriate noun and verb:

Verb

To make a noise like a long s sound:
Why do snakes hiss?
The iron was hissing and spluttering.
People in the audience were hissing their disapproval.

To say something in a quiet angry way: "Shut up, Tom!" she hissed.

Noun

A sound like the letter s:
I heard a hiss and a pop as the cork came out of the bottle.

(Cambridge Dictionary)

Verb:

"She heard someone hiss at her from somewhere in the basement shadows".

Noun:

"She heard a hiss from someone somewhere in the basement shadows".

edited Oct 16 '16 at 10:19

answered Oct 15 '16 at 21:02

BladorthinTheGrey

7,125

1

No; 'hiss' could obviously be used hereabouts, but does not "properly articulate 'psst' without having to write it out". 'The snake hissed' rarely means 'the snake tried to get solely my attention'. – Edwin Ashworth Oct 15 '16 at 21:26
Have to agree with Edwin here. If she heard someone hiss at her, she heard someone make angry noises at her. If she heard a hiss from somewhere in the basement shadows, there’s a good chance she should either call a plumber or unplug her broken radio. Neither sentence can in any reasonable interpretation be read as her hearing someone trying to catch her attention by “psst!”-ing at her. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Oct 16 '16 at 10:12
@JanusBahsJacquet I see what you mean. I would certainly argue that the verb form is appropriate - if someone hisses at you, they are definitely going to catch your attention, on the other hand, if you just hear a hiss it doesn't necessarily mean someone is catching your attention. I'm going to leave my answer up, but with your comments as caveats. – BladorthinTheGrey Oct 16 '16 at 10:24

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited Oct 16 '16 at 16:12

0

Psst is onomatopoetic. It's like saying is there a verb for "ow!" if a person is experiencing pain, or "woof!" is a dog is barking nearby.

You could say "alerted" since psst is to alert somebody or get his or her attention.

edited Oct 16 '16 at 16:12

tchrist

134,759

answered Oct 15 '16 at 19:00

DES-COA

75

1

But "The dog emitted a 'Woof' " does have a corresponding verb, which you use: bark. – Edwin Ashworth Oct 15 '16 at 19:34
1

@EdwinAshworth Woof is a verb. – Laurel Oct 15 '16 at 20:52
...It has two corresponding verbs. Perhaps more. Some corresponding more closely than others. And, @Laurel, some used so rarely as to be probably better avoided, in an adult register {GoogleNgrams}. – Edwin Ashworth Oct 15 '16 at 21:31

Dan · Answer 4 · 2016-10-16T09:37:48.017

To your first question, yes, it is grammatically correct.

As far as another way to represent that particular word, the best you'll probably get is an approximation like "a whispered sound." If you describe it in some way as a kind of discrete noise, then, in context, I think people will know what you mean.

Related to another remark here, I would describe the way a person would likely speak immediately following the interjection as a "hissed" tone, but not the "psst" sound itself.

Also as mentioned, two /s/ are enough. But you may add more for emphasis, if desired.

Pssst! (Usage as a verb)

4 Answers4