Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • pronoun You. Used in addressing two or more people or referring to two or more people, one of whom is addressed.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The chetah or hunting-leopard, Guepardus jubatus. Also youze. See cut under chetah.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • phrase African American Vernacular you are, you're
  • pronoun regional You (plural). Sometimes as youse guys
  • pronoun You (singular).

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[you + –s.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

you + -s plural suffix

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Contraction of you is.

Support

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Examples

  • If youse play fair, mabbe youse'll get a look-in on de rake-off; if youse throws me down, the first shot I fires won't miss _youse_.

    The Further Adventures of Jimmie Dale 1909

  • Surely youse is not trying to suggest that, after all the other white bankers left the table and you were the only white one left, the black guys thought you were 'one of them'!?!

    how to "pass" for a Mexican 2009

  • Surely youse is not trying to suggest that, after all the other white bankers left the table and you were the only white one left, the black guys thought you were 'one of them'!?!

    how to "pass" for a Mexican 2009

  • Surely youse is not trying to suggest that, after all the other white bankers left the table and you were the only white one left, the black guys thought you were 'one of them'!?!

    how to "pass" for a Mexican 2009

  • Surely youse is not trying to suggest that, after all the other white bankers left the table and you were the only white one left, the black guys thought you were 'one of them'!?!

    how to "pass" for a Mexican 2009

  • Surely youse is not trying to suggest that, after all the other white bankers left the table and you were the only white one left, the black guys thought you were 'one of them'!?!

    how to "pass" for a Mexican 2009

  • Surely youse is not trying to suggest that, after all the other white bankers left the table and you were the only white one left, the black guys thought you were 'one of them'!?!

    how to "pass" for a Mexican 2009

  • Surely youse is not trying to suggest that, after all the other white bankers left the table and you were the only white one left, the black guys thought you were 'one of them'!?!

    how to "pass" for a Mexican 2009

  • Surely youse is not trying to suggest that, after all the other white bankers left the table and you were the only white one left, the black guys thought you were 'one of them'!?!

    how to "pass" for a Mexican 2009

  • Surely youse is not trying to suggest that, after all the other white bankers left the table and you were the only white one left, the black guys thought you were 'one of them'!?!

    how to "pass" for a Mexican 2009

Comments

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  • Nonstandard--a word not to be used unless one is prepared to take the consequences.

    July 10, 2007

  • It's OK. I'm yoused to that kind of thing. ;)

    July 10, 2007

  • That's good!

    July 10, 2007

  • Didn't we have the youse/yins/y'all discussion somewhere else?

    Or maybe it wasn't youse guys. ;->

    July 10, 2007

  • there was a you'uns thread going...

    July 10, 2007

  • Yes, well some of us johnny-come-latelys missed earlier discussions. ;-)

    Or is it Johnny-comes-lately; surely not Johnny-come-latelies?

    July 10, 2007

  • Well, silly me: it is Johnnies-come-lately or Johnny-come-latelies. Of course. How could I not have known.

    July 10, 2007

  • You're right, kad. Slumry, in addition to you'uns, see y'all for more Wordie shenanigans. :-)

    July 10, 2007

  • Thanks for the reference, r.

    July 10, 2007

  • Re: Johnnies come Lately, I suggest you read Stephen Pinker's excellent The Language Instinct . It is a must for any self-respecting Wordie and the whole section on headless compounds will help explain this problem.

    July 11, 2007

  • Thanks, the book is in my library and on my very long to-read list. Perhaps I will now be inspired to get to it sooner rather than later. Any other books you would particulary recommend to Wordies? I know that, too, could be a very long list.

    July 11, 2007

  • Thanks, seanahan--been thinking about reading that one myself. I'll add it to my 20-page reading list. ;-)

    July 11, 2007

  • I'd recommend "Grammatical Man" by Jeremy Campbell. And, as a complement to The Language Instinct try "The Math Instinct" by Keith Devlin. Both are absolutely fascinating...

    July 11, 2007

  • Thanks, o. The list grows ever longer. :-)

    July 11, 2007

  • Oh, and here's something right up our "alley"

    July 11, 2007

  • I love the 'How to Speak 19th Century' page! It reminds me of John's list of Olde Fashyned Slang:

    http://wordie.org/people/John?wl=917

    July 19, 2007