The Hiccurp

Since at least eighth grade (and maybe before that, but I can't remember) I have made a funny little sound. If you are reading this, you have probably heard it. It sounds like a hiccup, but it stands alone. One, solitary hiccup. It's not quite a hiccup, either, because it doesn't have the accompanying uncomfortable stomach spasm feeling that goes with any real hiccup.

Over the years, "hiccurp" has been the most widely accepted name for the noise. The word "hiccurp" comes from combining hiccup and burp: it sounds like a hiccup, but there's only one, like a burp. It also sometimes has been called a reverse burp because that's pretty much what it is. Last week my friend Joanna came up with the cleverest name for it yet: a prub. (That's "burp" spelled backwards). I don't know how no one else in almost ten years has come up with that, but Joanna deserves props for her sharp thinking on this.

There have been some stellar brup moments over the years. In high school, about 100 of us were taking the AP psychology test in an auditorium at our school. The teacher proctoring had just handed out all the tests, and the room was silent, waiting for the signal to start the tests. "PRUB!" A nice loud hiccurp, echoing through the room, diffused some of the pre-test jitters as we began. My freshman year of college I took Introduction to Linguistics. We were reviewing the IPA symbols (the international symbols for writing phonetically). Our professor said, “Who can tell me what sound this symbol stands for?” And right on cue, “PRUB!” The class dissolved into laughter, and our professor replied, “Well, no, that’s not it.”

In high school, several people (including one or two teachers) suggested I should go to a doctor regarding the hiccurp. They thought it might be a symptom of some real health concern. I haven't ever gotten it checked out, and I have never even asked a doctor about it. I have met a few other people here and there who make the same sound, though. In high school, my friend Ann made it. My friend Orin claims his new co-worker makes it. Hannah (see entry #1 for who she is) has a friend Christine who makes it. My freshman year when I was visiting Hannah in Chicago, Christine informed me that she read singular hiccups can be the sign of a brain tumor. Mine must be pretty big by now.

I don’t really like my hiccurps. They are usually embarrassing and definitely not professional. I fear the day I am in a job interview or presenting a paper at a conference and whip out with a loud “Prrrrub!” Unfortunately, thus far I have not figured out how to stop the hiccurps. Theories and/or ideas on getting rid of hiccurps are welcome.