Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

How did 'probably' become 'prolly'?

I DO get why it's used to abbreviate in texting, but I'm finding kids in particular that think 'prolly' is an actual word. WTF?

It's like nails on a chalk-board..

scrreeeeeiiieeeecchhh!!!

2 Answers

Relevance
  • Anonymous
    6 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    This reminds me of a funny story. I was asking my brother Josh if he was going to be able to make it to a party I was having.

    Josh answered, "Prolly not."

    I said, "Prolly?! Really?"

    "Oh, sorry, 'probly' not.!"

    I laughed out loud and said, "Don't you mean 'probably'?"

    He just laughed and said, "Yah, that, proBABly."

    I think the story illustrates how it happened. "Probably" with two Bs is a bit of a lip buster, if not a tongue twister. So, it became "probly." Then, somehow, "probly" digressed into "prolly." At the same time it developed that weird vowel at the beginning that sounds less like the O in "probably" and more like the dentist telling you to say, "Ahh," because you'd think it'd rhyme with "trolley," but it doesn't.

    I live in Michigan, the state deficit of Bs that are owed to probably is staggering, prolly in the trillions.

  • Anonymous
    6 years ago

    I know when I see this I tend to wonder if I am spelling "Probably" wrong.. I am not in the loop of the latest slang.

Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.