well, well, well

English

Pronunciation

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Interjection

well, well, well

1. Indicating pondering or consideration, often with sarcasm or mock surprise.

   Well, well, well. What have we here?

   Well, well, well. Look who's back. And they said we'd never see him again.

   • 2003, J. K. Rowling, chapter 32, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:

     “Well, well, well!” said Umbridge, looking triumphant. “Little Miss Question-All is going to give us some answers! Come on then, girl, come on!”

Usage notes

This form may be a little stronger, or more sarcastic, than well, well. The term is sometimes used as a dog whistle to indicate a member of a given group adhering to stereotypes of said group.

Alternative forms

• well, well

Translations

indicating consideration

• Catalan: aviam, aviam, vaja, vaja
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 哦哟哟 (oyoyo), 行了，行了 (xíngle xíngle)

• Czech: ale, ale, ale
• Finnish: jaa-ha, kappas vain
• Greek: βρε, βρε, βρε (vre, vre, vre)
• Hungarian: nocsak, nocsak, nocsak
• Italian: bene, bene
• Polish: proszę (pl) (sometimes duplicated)
• Portuguese: ora, ora, ora
• Romanian: măi, măi, măi
• Russian: так-так (tak-tak)
• Spanish: vaya, vaya, vaya
• Swedish: men, men, men
• Uzbek: xo’sh-xo’sh

See also

• hmm