Vole

A very common and popular interjection with almost universal use. When a speaker is used to overusing the word “vole” and it appears in almost every sentence, he or she usually shortens the word unintentionally to a mere voe and in more extreme cases to vɛ.

Although the word is not appropriate when communicating with strangers, on formal occasions and often even within one’s family, it has lost its pejorative meaning when used informally among friends, especially in younger male and female populations. Unlike the apparently similar swearword zmrde, which is inappropriate in all circumstances, “vole” has become almost neutral for many speakers. Another, although less frequent figurative meaning of the word is the vocative form of the noun vůl (“ox”) which, apart from a castrated bull, also means a stupid and otherwise useless person.