Who does say "sheesh"?

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My friend Rebecca says "sheesh" all the time, which amuses me cbecause of her strong Bridlington accent and it always seems really inappropriate. Is it? Who does say "sheesh"?

Also, Martin from Bristol called in to ask:
"Do young American black kids say "sheesh" a lot?"

― Graham (graham), Tuesday, 17 December 2002 17:05 (twenty-three years ago)

Last night I was watching Ferris Beuller's Day Off on TV again and they overdubbed the Shits with Sheeshes. It was really obvious.

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Tuesday, 17 December 2002 17:17 (twenty-three years ago)

I do.

― RJG (RJG), Tuesday, 17 December 2002 17:26 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh yes Sarah, those were horrible.

"Pardon my french, but your an idiot!"

"If you stuck a lump of coal in his fist in two weeks you'd have a diamond."

― Chris V. (Chris V), Tuesday, 17 December 2002 17:29 (twenty-three years ago)

my grandmother

― A Nairn (moretap), Tuesday, 17 December 2002 17:45 (twenty-three years ago)

I do, but I don't know if I still count as "young".

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 17 December 2002 18:08 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm gonna make a point of saying it now

― DG (D_To_The_G), Tuesday, 17 December 2002 19:08 (twenty-three years ago)

i type it but i never say it.

― di smith (lucylurex), Tuesday, 17 December 2002 22:33 (twenty-three years ago)

What a question...sheesh!

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Tuesday, 17 December 2002 23:21 (twenty-three years ago)

I 'sheeshed' earlier as a 'Jeebus!' substitute.

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 17 December 2002 23:27 (twenty-three years ago)

For some reason I find it more annoying when written than said.

― David (David), Tuesday, 17 December 2002 23:31 (twenty-three years ago)

Kabob?

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Tuesday, 17 December 2002 23:43 (twenty-three years ago)

According to the search, I've used the word "sheesh" four times on ILE and once on ILM. I'm surprised it's that few. I've used the word "Jeez" and the phrase "Aw shux" twice as well. I be silly sometimes.

― Kim (Kim), Wednesday, 18 December 2002 01:13 (twenty-three years ago)

I say "sheesh," "gosh," and "fuck" with about equal frequency (which is pretty fucking frequent, by gosh.)

― Tep (ktepi), Wednesday, 18 December 2002 03:22 (twenty-three years ago)

there are people who don't say sheesh?

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Wednesday, 18 December 2002 03:26 (twenty-three years ago)

Minna! --->

genre throwdowns

Sorry, can't do no fancy links.

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Wednesday, 18 December 2002 13:55 (twenty-three years ago)

I use the word "sheeshmeesh" a lot. It's croation for "bat".

― J (Jay), Wednesday, 18 December 2002 14:12 (twenty-three years ago)

twenty-three years pass...

Turkish kids say “sheesh” a lot, but they spell it “çüş”.

― oder doch?, Tuesday, 23 June 2026 12:01 (five days ago)

apparently this is gen z slang? which is funny to me bc the word has been around forever and it doesn’t seem like the meaning has been dramatically changed.

― jaymc, Tuesday, 23 June 2026 12:05 (five days ago)

although maybe someone who spends more time around young ppl can explain how it is different

― jaymc, Tuesday, 23 June 2026 12:06 (five days ago)

apparent from…?

― uploading this content requires perseveration (sic), Tuesday, 23 June 2026 12:34 (five days ago)

I say it occasionally, but I also say "get bent" and "go kick rocks," which my wife says is a sign that I was raised on Peanuts.

― Cow_Art, Tuesday, 23 June 2026 12:38 (five days ago)

I feel like "Yikes" has come back in recent years. Did it ever go away?

― rameau in the main room (dog latin), Tuesday, 23 June 2026 12:46 (five days ago)

I’ve been saying sheesh for decades, kids owe me royalties

― The Immortal Bird of Avon (Boring, Maryland), Tuesday, 23 June 2026 13:08 (five days ago)

apparent from…?

I learned it when my employer did a social media video with our CEO using young people slang and "sheesh" was one of them. But you can look it up and find stuff like this:

https://kiisfm.iheart.com/featured/ryan-seacrest-blog/content/2021-07-15-what-does-sheesh-mean-explaining-that-viral-tiktok-slang/

― jaymc, Tuesday, 23 June 2026 13:11 (five days ago)

the meaning has changed - this high-pitched falsetto version means just "wow" or "whoa" or "dayuuuuumm"

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 23 June 2026 13:13 (five days ago)

https://✧✧✧.tik✧✧✧.c✧✧✧@b✧✧✧.dogg✧✧✧/video/7387865330556718382?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

― paper plans (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 23 June 2026 13:22 (five days ago)

oops Tik Toks are blocked but here's a Gen Z primer.

― paper plans (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 23 June 2026 13:24 (five days ago)

(still blocked, oh well)

― paper plans (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 23 June 2026 13:24 (five days ago)

i think it's because it has an @ symbol in it

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 23 June 2026 13:32 (five days ago)

you can look it up and find stuff like this

But, don't go running around saying "sheesh" just yet.
Gen Z apparently thinks it’s cringey for millennials to say “sheesh”.

andy-daly-as-danny-mahoney.jpg

― uploading this content requires perseveration (sic), Tuesday, 23 June 2026 13:36 (five days ago)

My mom said "sheesh" a lot. It was always a term of dismissal. "You had all weekend to finish your homework and you didn't do any of it? Sheesh!"

― peace, man, Tuesday, 23 June 2026 13:41 (five days ago)

sheesh gets said on ilx quite a bit, including by me. I can't remember if I never stopped saying it or if it being resurrected by zoomers resurfaced it in my brain though

― rob, Tuesday, 23 June 2026 13:46 (five days ago)

the gen-z pronunciation is closer to "sheeeeeeee" ime

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 23 June 2026 14:35 (five days ago)

and has a different meaning, as i've mentioned

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 23 June 2026 14:35 (five days ago)

hm ok yeah I did not pick that up from any zoomers

― rob, Tuesday, 23 June 2026 14:40 (five days ago)

At its origins, sheesh was never used as a substitute for 'sheee-it'. It's euphemizing 'jeeee-sus".

― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Tuesday, 23 June 2026 17:05 (five days ago)

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