Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- interj. Used to express sorrow, regret, or alarm: "'Las and fearful alack—nobody can make such high claims for the people then living in Maine” ( John Gould).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- An exclamation expressive of sorrow.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- interj. An exclamation expressive of sorrow.
Etymologies
- On the model of alas; see lack.
Examples
“Alas and alack, societal pressures are very strong, indeed.”
“The peas are over and the broccoli went to flower while I was away (alack!) but the carrots and squash are just coming into their own, and the cucumbers are tiny and cute.”
“But here, on this side of the world, alas and alack, the very name is a misnomer.”
“So I would beg and plead and threaten to not bathe, but alas and alack, my family would not relent.”
“Comments are bare — alas and alack — so any nuggets of wisdom from you would be verily appreciated.”
“All these self promises have faild in consequence of that perpetual round of alack, exercise,”
“Lance Mannion: Alas and alack for us, lawyers and pharisees, hypocrites that we are ...”
Alas and alack for us, lawyers and pharisees, hypocrites that we are...
“Alas and alack for us, lawyers and pharisees, hypocrites that we are ...”
Alas and alack for us, lawyers and pharisees, hypocrites that we are...
“Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Alas and alack for us, lawyers and pharisees, hypocrites that we are ...”
Alas and alack for us, lawyers and pharisees, hypocrites that we are...
“« Alas and alack for us, lawyers and pharisees, hypocrites that we are ...”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘alack’.
sonofgroucho Alas, you do, indeed. Dec 13, 2007
uselessness Ihave alack ofspaces betweenwords. Dec 12, 2007
sonofgroucho Often seen hanging around alas. Dec 12, 2007