hhhhm.

n.  an expression of deep thought in Ulysses by James Joyce.

hhhkkkk.

n.  the sound of an inhalation by someone fighting for life, as in the graphic novel ShadowFall by Kaichi Satake.

hhhm.

adv.  indeed, as in the play Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov.


n.  a contemplative hum.

<Hhhm, I say, picturing myself with a goatee, wondering if I too have a pretty mouth.  —Inman Majors, Wonderdog.>

hhhnn.

(also hhhhnnn.)  n. the uncanny sound of a possum.

<Hhhnn.  Hhhhnnn.  Horrible noise.  The blasted animal might wake Hugh and she couldn’t bear having to be the perfect mother again at midnight.  Well, possum, she decided, your cousins in New South Wales might be protected animals, but that is in another country.  You’re a pest to me and I am going to get you.  —Barbara Else, Gingerbread Husbands.>

n.  the sound of a stifled yawn.

<“Hhhnn,” said Peter, gulping down a violent yawn.  —David James Duncan, The Brothers K.>

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