Hammina wah

Question

Hey there,i´ve got a sentence from a cowboy from montana in my book, who says after he´s scared: Hammina wah .. ..Does anyone of you knows the meaning of that?Thank you very much!

Clive · Accepted Answer

Please show us the phrase in context, ie with what comes before and after.

Clive

Philip · Answer

My limited research shows that it is Arabic, an expression used in a "blessing" situation, such as after someone sneezes. It seems out of context in the speech of a Montana cowboy. The spelling I found online in hamna wa. [ I'm thinking of something like "Well, I'll be darned" in this case. ] Perhaps one of our Arabic-speaking members can enlighten us.

Ka Hoerschaf · Answer

The story is:

a family comes to a farm in montana.
they say "hello" to the cowboy, and the speaking dog of the family (yes, it´s a kidsbook) says also "hello".
The cowboy gets scared and says: Hammina wah!

Does that help?

Clive · Answer

I have no idea. It's not English.

Is it a picture book? Is it written by a native speaker?

What is the next thing that anyone says?

Clive

Ka Hoerschaf · Answer

Hi Clive,
Philipps explanation fits in this context.

Thank you both.

Clive · Answer

Good work by Phillip!

Why is the cowboy speaking Arabic?

Clive

Ka Hoerschaf · Answer

i don´t know ... but his idea of i´ll be darned ist working ... we should ask someone from Montana??? ;-)

Philip · Answer

I'm sure we have Arabic speakers here somewhere.  I can't find one.  Anyone else?

Anonymous · Answer

Here you go. The author has put together 2 Americanisms. Hamina and Wha?.

If you ever watched Futerama, the perfesser often says. Wha? when caught off guard by a question.

Hamina, from the character Ralph, in the Honetmooners (50's TV series) used Hamina (usually 3 times) when caught flatfooted in a lie.

Talking Dog! Hamina, Wha?

Hammina wah

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