thank-you-ma'am

[ thangk-yoo-mam ]

noun

1. a bump or depression in a road that jars a person riding over it.

Word History and Origins

Origin of thank-you-ma'am¹

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

Example Sentences

To put it nicely, he's kind of a wham, bam, thank-you-ma'am sort of guy.

From Slate

Then it went over a thank-you-ma’am and slid a little faster.

From Project Gutenberg

It was a sharp February night, but he slept in the barn beside his prize, and the next morning drove home, dreading every drift and thank-you-ma’am, for fear they might upset, and the slight crate that held the fox might break.

From Project Gutenberg

It pays the merest thank-you-ma'am to Webster's English, draws a lot of its vigor and flavor from Gullah, an African slave dialect still spoken by the white and Negro populations of the rice islands along the South Atlantic littoral, adds a touch of Huguenot French and a dash of regional accent that is as deep-rooted and mysterious as the brooding cypresses.

From Time Magazine Archive

But believing that the roads are certain to be rough, the delegates felt there was all the more need for shock absorbers�to save the whole world from being jarred by every thank-you-ma'am that each nation hits.

From Time Magazine Archive