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What does the American slang expression ad' a boy, shooter! mean? In high school I had an American teacher who would always say this, can't remember which state he was from, I think it's an abbreviation of what a boy, shooter!.

He would say this whenever someone would give a correct answer or good reasoning to a problem or question he would have pointed out.

What does the shooter part actually mean. Does it imply something sexual such as ejaculation from the penis. Does it imply ejaculation of words from the mouth. Spitting it out, in other words.

I can't describe the amount of fun we all had with this expression, (which was just used, and never explained).

choster
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Neil Zaneil
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    It is probably attaboy that you heard. – Mick Dec 05 '17 at 12:37
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    @Mick Since you have effectively answered the question, why not make it into an answer that we can vote on? – Spagirl Dec 05 '17 at 12:44
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    @Spagirl "Attaboy, shooter" may be a fixed phrase with a particular meaning. Anyway, the OP is more interested in the meaning of shooter, so I'll refrain. Also, I've just provided a fairly detailed answer on Photography.SE, which took me some time, so I'm rather tired. – Mick Dec 05 '17 at 12:45
  • I don't think "shooter" has any significance beyond the immediate context (speaker is impressed by something done by someone he knows as "Shooter"). Here's a 1978 instance of *Attaboy, Scooter!*, where the speaker then goes on to extol Scooter's finer qualities. – FumbleFingers Dec 05 '17 at 14:16
  • Why would it imply any sort of ejaculation at all? I think that's just your teenage mind which was seeing sex everywhere as teenage minds are wont to do. – terdon Dec 05 '17 at 14:20
  • It's funny. Anyways, the Wikipedia page places an emphasizing stress I the first syllable, but I've heated it stressed on the second syllable. Maybe the IPA there needs to be updated with this variant. – Neil Zaneil Dec 07 '17 at 09:34

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Attaboy or thattaboy or that a boy is an informal expression of praise, approval, or encouragement of American origin, first attested 1909. As AHD has it:

interj. Informal Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy or man:

Attaboy! That's the way to hit a home run!

[Alteration of That's the boy!]

The OED also gives that origin, which seems plausible, though that's my boy as an exclamation is easier to find and remains in popular usage.

Boy is used in the affectionate or playful sense, and does not necessarily refer to a youth, or even necessarily a male. Still, attagirl is a natural alternative for females, attested from the 1920s.

As an actual interjection I rarely hear it except with children or pets, or in fairly informal settings. As a noun referring to a short statement of approbation, it is unexceptional. It is like kudos or cheers in my idiolect.

As to Shooter, given your teacher's readiness to use familiar language with students, I would say it is simply a familiarizing nickname intended to demonstrate affection or informality. It may be an obscure reference, or he may simply have liked the sound of it, but it is not attached to any particular region or meaning.

All manner of words are used in this way by all kinds of people. Off the top of my head, you'll find television dialogue where someone is addressed as champ, tiger, kiddo, chief, sport, sailor, ace, amigo, or cowboy — with absolutely zero relationship to their championship, tigrinity, maturity, authority, athleticism, nauticality, aerial lethality, friendship, or … vaquerage? Anyway, in real life I also know people who address everyone as senator or gunner or homes or bad boy.

There are no real rules dictated by the language, only by social convention. For instance, some women may not appreciate being called big fella or papa bear, and cupcake or dreamboat may be interpreted as diminutive, or insulting, or flirtatious except among very close peers. As tchrist cautions in the other question, these words are therefore fraught and the risk of misunderstanding or insult is extremely high— as we seem to have seen here.

Community
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choster
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  • Yeah, but in an informal setting a humorous word or phrase that puzzles everyone really adds some flavor, laughter, and enthusiasm, besides catching everyone's attention. Thanks for the answer. – Neil Zaneil Dec 07 '17 at 09:38