# He was really waling/whaling/wailing on that guy! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 21, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591 "2008-02-21T17:11:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/1 "2008-02-21T17:11:10Z")
This one bothers me. I’m not even sure if it’s slangSince I never see it used in proper written speech, I’ve never been sure which word to use when describing “beating on someone”. The internet is no help, since most online writers will use any combination of keystrokes that strikes their fancy to spell most words. I usally see “whaling on” or “wailing on.” However, my best guess is that the real usage this comes from is [wale](http://www.dictionary.net/wale), “to mark with stripes,” probably from the same root as “weal” meaning “a streak or stripe.” So, if I am correct in this assumption, the usage should be “He was waling on him good!” Well, so to speak. 🙂 Anyone have a different take on this? I recognize that correcting every average user of this term is already a lost cause. I’m mostly just trying to know the correct version of the verb wale/whale/wail to settle my mind on the matter. Sailboat/Saleboat/Shaleboat ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/2 "2008-02-21T17:17:13Z")
Miriam-Webster says it’s “whale” > [@](#): > > Main Entry: **whale** > Function: _transitive verb_ > Inflected Form(s): **whaled** ; **whal·ing** > Etymology: origin unknown > Date: circa 1790 > > **1** : lash, thrash > **2** : to strike or hit vigorously > **3** : to defeat soundly ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/3 "2008-02-21T17:39:12Z")
I’ve often wondered if it could be from Irish or Scottish Gaelic _buail_, to hit / beat / strike. The sense agrees exactly. In the past tense, it is _bhuail_, which is pronounced very similarly to Irish-English _wail_ (but not _whale_; I’d have to rely on the general English w + wh merger to explain that one). ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/4 "2008-02-21T18:13:02Z")
I had my ignorance fought here on that word a few months ago. **garygnu** has the SD. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/5 "2008-02-21T19:04:04Z")
Do people still use that term? It sounds like slang from when I was 12. ie “I whaled on that gay-wad for calling me a retard.” ---
**Author:** ![brownsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@brownsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownsfan)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/6 "2008-02-21T19:20:13Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] Do people still use that term? It sounds like slang from when I was 12. ie “I whaled on that gay-wad for calling me a retard.” [/QUOTE] Oddly enough, I am that gay-wad. And I’m not gay, and you _are_ a retard. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/7 "2008-02-21T19:20:26Z")
Whaling, as far as I know, is the only correct option. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/8 "2008-02-21T19:48:57Z")
nevermind, can’t read ---
**Author:** ![Erik\_the\_Viking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Erik\_the\_Viking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erik_the_Viking)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/9 "2008-02-21T20:20:11Z")
[QUOTE=garygnu] Miriam-Webster says it’s “whale” [/QUOTE] Oddly enough, American Heritage says it’s “wale”: wale (wāl) tr.v. waled, wal·ing, wales To raise marks on (the skin), as by whipping. ---
**Author:** ![Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tyrrell_mcallister/32/16772_2.png) [@Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tyrrell_McAllister)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/10 "2008-02-21T20:23:20Z")
The Onion goes with “whaling”, and that’s good enough for me: [Five Or Six Dudes Jump Out Of Nowhere And Just Start Whaling On This One Guy](http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28455) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/11 "2008-02-21T20:36:57Z")
[QUOTE=Tyrrell McAllister] The Onion goes with “whaling”, and that’s good enough for me: [Five Or Six Dudes Jump Out Of Nowhere And Just Start Whaling On This One Guy](http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28455) [/QUOTE] I have been looking for that article for _years_! It’s the first Onion article I ever read, and was so well written that it got me hooked on the publication. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/12 "2008-02-21T21:17:50Z")
[QUOTE=Erik the Viking] Oddly enough, American Heritage says it’s “wale”: wale (wāl) tr.v. waled, wal·ing, wales To raise marks on (the skin), as by whipping. [/QUOTE] Actually, it has both, and so does Miriam-Webster. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/13 "2008-02-21T21:34:01Z")
Two things: First of all, if I saw in print that someone was “whaling” on someone, I’d think he was going after him with a harpoon. Second, is it still “whaling” when describing a musical performance? _She was really whaling on that guitar._ Because that would be _really_ weird. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/14 "2008-02-21T21:56:41Z")
In my readings, I notice that it’s used as follows in sources that I usually find to be reliably correct in grammar and usage: 1. If it’s beating on a person, it’s “whaling on” or more commonly “whaling away on”. Getting whaled on is what happens to you if you piss off a bully in a 1940’s pulp novel, but I’ve seen it in both earlier and later periods. It’s not obsolete yet. 2. If it’s playing a musical instrument, it tends to be “wailing on” or just “wailing”. This is a little sketchier… fan mags and rock rags always use this spelling, but they’re not generally considered authorities on English usage. I would probably avoid using this one at all unless I were imitating a rock musician or fan circa 1950-1970. Again, not obsolete yet, but more prevalent among the pompadour set. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/15 "2008-02-21T22:20:03Z")
[QUOTE=brownsfan] Oddly enough, I am that gay-wad. And I’m not gay, and you _are_ a retard. 😉 [/QUOTE] Dude…it’s not my fault you were a spazoid. Go eat your boogers or something. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/16 "2008-02-22T00:03:36Z")
**Merriam** -Webster also has this entry: Main Entry: **wale** Function: transitive verb Inflected Form(s): waled; wal·ing Date: 15th century : to mark (as the skin) with welts I submit that if we’re using it in the slang sense of “beating,” the “raise welts on the skin” form is probably more true to the sense of what we’re getting at than the “large marine mammal” form. I’ll speculate that “whale” acquired the meaning “to beat” through a descriptivist reading of popular literature, which was misspelling “wale,” and became cemented over time. However, I’m unconvinced. I’m aware of the dangers of folk etymology and making assumptions. I don’t think we have a definitive answer yet; there may very well not be one. Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/17 "2008-02-22T02:17:43Z")
So beating up a Japanese guy on a ship currently occupied in hunting in the southern ocean because you don’t like his singing is waling on a whaler wailing? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/18 "2008-02-22T02:48:24Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] I have been looking for that article for _years_! It’s the first Onion article I ever read, and was so well written that it got me hooked on the publication. Thank you! [/QUOTE] D’oh! I was just about to post the same damn thing. I hadn’t been able to find it either. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/19 "2008-02-22T03:33:34Z")
[QUOTE=Cosmic Relief] Again, not obsolete yet, but more prevalent among the pompadour set. [/QUOTE] Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591/20 "2008-02-22T03:34:46Z")
That Onion article is the greatest story about whaling since Moby Dick. Sadly enough, it was also the first thing I thought of when I saw the thread title. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-was-really-waling-whaling-wailing-on-that-guy/438591.md?page=2)