wowser
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wowser¹
- /ˈwaʊzə(ɹ)/
Rhymes with -aʊzə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From UK dialect. Australian from late 1890s.
John Norton, an early enemy of wowsers, claimed it to be an acronym for "We Only Want Social Evils Remedied", but that is likely a folk etymology.
A story has it that gospellers in the streets of Clunes, Victoria in the 1870s were called rousers but one of the town councillors had a speech impediment and couldn't pronounce his "R"s, thus giving wowser. (Reference: Bill Wannan, Australian Folklore, Lansdowne Press, 1970, reprint 1979 →ISBN, under "Wowser", page 568.)
noun wowsers
-
One with strong moral views against alcohol, gambling, pornography, etc., who seeks to promulgate those views; a censorious, self-righteous, puritanical person who tries to stop others from having fun.
“I’d like to come with you one day up to the top end,” she said. “I suppose it’ll have to be after we’re married.”
He grinned. “Plenty of wowsers back in Willstown to talk about it, if you came before.”
Similar: killjoy, moral crusader, party pooper, prude, spoilsport
wowser²
Where it comes from
Origin unknown.
# (US) A fierce imaginary animal.
#*
1968, Squire Omar Barker, Rawhide Rhymes: Singing Poems of the Old West, page 10:
Well, a wowser is the critter
That the nester's little daughter is afraid will come and git her
In case she fails to wash her neck and mind her pa and ma,
For what the ring-tailed wowser likes is little gals to chaw.
At least she's heard the cowboys thus describe this wondrous beast
With one green eye a-lookin' west, a red one lookin' east.
But speaking scientifickly, the wowser is a cross
Between the cattywampus and and the dry-land albatross
With parts of grizzly bear throwed in, and just enough of 'coon
To give him rings around his tail, like rings around the moon.
From wow, with the "-ser" added to provide emphasis.
noun wowsers
- Alternative form of wowzer Its title was “The Time Raider," and this story, which has never been reprinted, was a wowser.
interjection
- Alternative form of wowsers In Gadget's eyes she looked positively beautiful in her gorgeous satiny-red cocktail dress. "Wowser!" he exclaimed, much to the confusion of the guests, who conferred with each other.
Talk about this word "wowser." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/wowser. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. wowser. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/wowser "wowser." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/wowser.Cite this
@misc{wowser_2026,
title = {wowser},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/wowser},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
