# Nummy? Huh?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nummy-huh/298974
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 12, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nummy-huh/298974 "2005-04-12T15:34:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nummy-huh/298974/1 "2005-04-12T15:34:19Z")
Lately I’ve seen the word “nummy” crop up here and there on the board. [This thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=308761), for instance. From context it appears to be synonymous with “yummy”, but where did it come from? Is it taking over from “yummy”, or is it a regional thang?
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### Author:  [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nummy-huh/298974/2 "2005-04-12T15:46:18Z")
It’s more onomatopoeic than “yummy,” closer to the sound you actually make when your mouth is full and you’re expressing your pleasure.
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### Author:  [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nummy-huh/298974/3 "2005-04-12T15:50:05Z")
It’s just a variation. I don’t think anyone uses ‘nummy’ instead of ‘yummy’ exclusively.
It very likely comes from baby speech.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nummy-huh/298974/4 "2005-04-12T16:26:46Z")
Some of its use on this board comes from those of us who are fans of _Buffy_ and _Angel_. Spike used to refer to several things, (and people) as “right nummy treats.” 😃
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### Author:  [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nummy-huh/298974/5 "2005-04-12T16:42:49Z")
Huh, it’s what I always say to my kid instead of “yummy”, and kind of thought that it was my own little joke. Instead, it would appear that as a hard-core _Buffy_ fan, I picked it up from there without realizing it.
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### Author:  [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nummy-huh/298974/6 "2005-04-12T17:31:07Z")
This has been around long before Buffy. I’ve most frequently seen it with parents feeding their babies saying stuff like, “Mmm, this is nummy” while weilding a spoon that said offspring is reluctant to open up for. Where it originated I have no clue.
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### Author:  [@cheezmonger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheezmonger)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nummy-huh/298974/7 "2005-04-14T04:49:16Z")
It’s also been used to describe the local anaesthesic effect imparted by placing a bit of cocaine on the tongue - makes the face go numb, so they say. Cop movies often depict this, although to my knowledge it’s much easier and less dangerous (in terms of pee tests, if nothing else) to drop it into a test baggie. Test baggies are not, however, good for movie drama.
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### Author:  [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2005, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nummy-huh/298974/8 "2005-04-14T04:54:59Z")
I’ve always thought of it as a just another variation…_yummy_, _nummy_, _scrummy_. Perhaps there’s a slightly more childish flavour to _nummy_, as \*\*FatBaldGuy \*\* suggests.
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### Author:  [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2005, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nummy-huh/298974/9 "2005-04-14T05:29:24Z")
One friend of mine always says “yummy” while another always says “nummy.” Same meaning. It’s just a preference.
I recall a friend in high school feeding grubs to some salamandars in our biology class and saying “Num, num!” to them. (Why do I remember stuff like that??)
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### Author:  [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2005, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nummy-huh/298974/10 "2005-04-14T05:29:43Z")
Ive heard of getting some num nums… nummers…