It’s how Maggie, my 10-year-old daughter, answers certain types of questions these days.
For example, “Maggie, are you feeling better now that you’ve rested?”
“-ish,” she answers. As in, better-ish. Kind of, sort of, a little, not really.
Or perhaps it’s spelled “Ish.” Hard to tell, though I prefer the hyphenated, lower case version. The questions that elicit this response tend to be qualitative in nature. But the range seems to be widening, with “-ish” covering more ground. Not dissimilar to, say, meh.
“How do you like that coffee ice cream?”
“-ish,” she’ll reply from the back seat, licking away without any great enthusiasm, waffling on the waffle cone.
No character in my books has used “-ish” in dialogue. But I suspect that’s going to change.
I get this at home, too. I like it. I have to work hard to keep from asking what he REALLY means, but I’m catching on.
My daughter says ish too!! She is 11. 🙂
Ewwww!!!!!! I hate coffee ice-cream!!!!!!!!