m'kay

See also: mkay

English

Alternative forms

• mkay, mmkay, mm-kay, mmmkay, mmm-kay, mmk, mk

Etymology

Nasalized variant of okay. Perhaps popularized by Mr. Mackey's catchphrase in South Park; earlier, apparently chiefly in linguistic transcriptions of speech.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /mːˈkeɪ/, [ŋˈkeɪ]

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪ

Interjection

m'kay

1. (informal) Okay; an expression of acknowledgment or affirmation, now sometimes used in an ironic or condescending sense.
   1. spelling mkay
      • 1991, Barbara A. Fox, “Cognitive and Interactional Aspects of Correction in Tutoring,” in Teaching Knowledge and Intelligent Tutoring, Peter Goodyear ed. [1]:

        In these tutoring sessions we have found that, when the tutor agrees with the student’s displayed understanding, her signal of confirmation comes quickly after the student’s turn, as in:
        S. Mkay.
        hh. And I know it’s negative, just to follow your thought process, because I know that the sine is positive.
        T. Mhm

      • 1993, Herbert H Clark, Arenas of Language Use [2]

        [...] the director would go on only when both were satisfied the matcher had understood, as here:
        D. The long view of the quad uh walkway
        M. those
        M. ┌ numbers right?
        D. └ is number 5
        M. Mkay
        D. Yeah with the numbers on the bottom.

      • 1995, Charles Conrad and Lucinda Sinclair-James, “Institutional Pressures, Cultural Constraints, and Communication in Community Mediation Organizations,” in Conflict and Organizations, Anne Maydan Nicotera ed.

        M1: Mkay. Let me point us back to. This is related to um what we were talking about and how you’re going to um sort of report what happened here tonight.

      • 2004, Gordon Atkinson, RealLivePreacher.com [3]:

        My bold, Crocodile Hunter “Absolutely” withered into “mkay” with the end of the word lilted up like a desperate question.

      • 2004, Deanna Kizis, How to Meet Cute Boys [4]:

        That has nothing to do with star-power crap and everything to do with keeping it real, mkay?

   2. spelling mmkay
      • 1997: Christina S. Beck, Partnership for Health (dead link):

        C: I want you to re:st (.) re:st (.) as much as you can do (.) is just re:st (.) hhh when >you go< home (.) >you tell< your husband you make dinner honey (.) hhh you take care of me (.) . . . I need >to set< down (.) I need >to rest< (.)
        P: mmkay (.)
        C: and >get down< (.) watch your sodium (.) the salt=

      • 2004, Abbe Diaz, PX This (dead link):

        well i used to have some skilled sticky fingers of my own back in the day so i know a shoplifted dress when i see one mmkay.

      • 2005, Catherine Delaney, The Rosameorns (dead link):

        I looked back to him...mmkay brown hair dark eyes...high cheek bones that lucky monkey I wonder if he has some native American.

      • 2005, Jenny Colgan, Boy I Loved Before (dead link)

        She was sitting perched on her desk, in that nonchalant, ‘mmkay?’ way teachers do when they’re trying to pretend they’re down with the kids.

   3. spelling mmmkay
      • 1999, “It's Easy, MMMKay.” [title, in soundtrack] South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
      • 2004, Victoria Schmitz, If It’s Not One Thing It’s the Other [5]:

        Let’s get all this straight. He took me to a place he hates to see if I like it. Mmmkay.

      • 2004, Stephanie Lehmann, Are You in the Mood [6]

        He told her she could sleep in if she liked. “Mmmkay,” she said without opening her eyes, and he kissed her good-bye.

   4. spelling m’kay
      • 1999, Tom Bradley, Black Class Cur [7]:

        “I’ll tell you a secret if you promise not to tell anybody, not even the missus, m’kay?”
        “M’kay.”

      • 2003, Bill Hunt and Todd Doogan, The Digital Bits: Insider’s Guide to DVD [8]:

        But do keep in mind that this film [viz. South Park] is not for the faint of heart, and it ain’t for kids, m’kay?

   5. spelling mm-kay
      • 2000, Tom Bradley, Hustling the East [9]:

        She didn’t ask what that was supposed to mean, but tallied a while on her fingertips and obliged him.
        “Mm-kay, bye.”

      • 2005, Bill Eisele, Scrub Match [10]

        “All I’m saying,” the Asian man said, “is it’s about time she got a whiff of her own breath. Mm-kay?”

   6. spelling mmm-kay
      • 2005, Michael Collins, Hot Lights, Cold Steel‎^[11]:

        “Well, I’m going to take a picture of your arm and then this nice doctor is going to fix it for you, okay?”
        “Mmm-kay.”

Usage notes

• Spellings with initial h, suggesting reanalysis as hmm + 'kay, are common on the Internet, though print citations are yet lacking.

Translations

(informal) Okay

• French: m’voyez (France), m’kay (Quebec)