aw shucks

aw shucks

1. An expression of shyness, happiness, or embarrassment. In this usage, "shucks" can be used by itself. A: "You're just too sweet!" B: "Aw shucks, you're gonna make me blush."
2. An expression of disappointment. In this usage, "shucks" can be used by itself. Aw shucks, it looks like we're going to lose the game after all. Shucks, the rain clouds seem to be rolling in now.
3. Indicative of shyness or a lack of sophistication. The phrase is typically hyphenated in this usage. Charlie was a nice fellow with a sweet, aw-shucks demeanor.
See also: aw, shuck


1. A mild exclamation of anger, annoyance, regret, or disgust (about something). Typically preceded by the interjections "ah" or "aw." Shucks! I thought that would fix the problem with the computer, but I guess something else must be wrong. Ah, shucks—that was supposed to be a surprise for your birthday!
2. A mild exclamation of humility or embarrassment, especially when receiving praise or flattery. Typically preceded by the interjections "ah" or "aw." A: "I wanted to give you this gift as thanks for everything you did for me and my family." B: "Aw, shucks. I was only doing my duty, ma'am." I've been thinking long and hard about what I would say if I won this award, but now that I'm here, well, shucks—I'm downright speechless!
3. noun Something of very little value. Used especially in the phrases "not worth shucks" and "not amount to shucks." All their promises won't amount to shucks if they aren't willing to back them up with action. I learned long ago that people like him aren't worth shucks.
See also: shuck

(Aw) shucks!

See also: aw
References in periodicals archive ?
Sporting a busted lip and an 'aw shucks' smile, Meralco rookie Chris Newsome looked more like the boy-next-door type who got manhandled by neighborhood bullies.
Manning's "aw shucks" country boy charm has been recognisable as an g NFL staple for almost two decades.
And certainly more interesting than the kind of 'Aw shucks' false modesty you often get.
Lil' Cub returns to Bentley safely and is once again congratulated, responding "Aw shucks, I didn't do it to be a HERO, I'm just glad I could help someone else.
It's like someone said: "Aw shucks, we do love youse.
Aw shucks, we've known that all along, official Washington declared.
Ah, simple times, where politics went as far as the county lines and, aw shucks, foreign travel was the Brooklyn Dodgers playing the Boston Red Sox -- if the wireless radio could pick it up over the heavy summer evening airwaves.
went to a poetry reading I was, "aw shucks." But my writing
He has an uncanny ability to charm information out of people with his country smile and "aw shucks" demeanor, which mask his truly formidable reporting skills.
A huge set of moustaches transforms Andrew Schofield into Sam Cisco, a retired broncobuster famed for stopping a whole town from bur ning down ("Aw shucks, it was nothing - anyone with a full bladder would have done the same").
And the company has put that information online in searchable form, so that you easily can produce a graph of how frequently words such as "freedom" or "pancake" - or even phrases such as "aw shucks" - have appeared in print over the centuries.
When I apologized for my star-struck exuberance, I could almost hear the "aw shucks" in his voice.
He gave what almost amounted to a campaign speech, speaking in a jocular, "aw shucks" style but beating the GOP drum on healthcare ("Health care decisions should be made by doctors and patients - not by government bureaucrats") and defense ("Now is no time to dismantle the defenses that have protected this country for hundreds of years, or make deep cuts in funding for our troops").
The voters, as revealed by the polls, are apparently not buying "aw shucks, wink, you betcha" as enough of a qualification for the presidency.