how my

English

Alternative forms

• how'my

Etymology

/haʊ̯ əm aɪ̯/ → /haʊ̯ m‿aɪ̯/

From how'm +‎ I, so a contraction of how am I, phonetically respelled as if it were how +‎ my.

Pronunciation

• enPR: hou mī IPA^(key): /haʊ̯ maɪ̯/

Contraction

how my

1. (nonstandard, colloquial) Contraction of how am I.

Usage notes

• The regular spelling of how'm I is more common.

Quotations

• 1931 June, Town Journal‎^[1], volume 38, Farm Journal, page 30:

  Aw, how'my gonna make m'livin' robbin' banks 'n bumpin' a feller off occas'nally?

• 1984, Stephen Dixon, Time to Go‎^[2], Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 141:

  I hang up. "How my going to get to sleep tonight, Mag? How my going to?"

• 2013, Andy Bloch, Rooster Mitchell, The Killer and the Comic‎^[3], Original Works, →ISBN:

  So how's he gonna' find me? How my gonna' find him?