Gawp! What are you gawping at? Marvelously descriptive and emotional words. Words to be said with feeling. Gawp and gawping were often heard in the North of England. An illustration of their usage is when performing a task that goes awry – imagine for example trying to hitch up your trousers in a public place. Another example is if caught committing some social indiscretion such as picking one’s nose or scratching the backside. The likely spectator reaction would be an open-mouthed stare. They would be gawping!
Merriam-Webster says this:
Simple Definition Popularity: Bottom 30% of words
: to stare at someone or something in a rude or stupid wayFull Definition of gawp
chiefly British
intransitive verb
: gawk (: a clumsy stupid person : loutExamples of gawp in a sentence
<tourists in London gawping at royalty>Origin and Etymology
English dialect gawp to yawn, gape, from obsolete galp, from Middle EnglishFirst Known Use: 1855
Popularity in the bottom 30 percent of words. Start using it! NOW 🙂
Urban Dictionary has a helpful definition:
TOP DEFINITION
gawp
v. to stand stock-still staring vacantly at someone, as though looking through their eyes and out of the back of their head at something several miles behind them, preferably with mouth slightly open and with dribble seeping out of corners or (for greatest effect) middle of mouth.
My friend went right up close to one of those still-standing street-performers and just gawped until they made the first move.
by igor July 20, 2003
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Reminds me of garp – “The World According to Garp,” John Irving. 🙂
Great book and film with Robin Williams.