I VUM, phr. (American).—A mild expletive or oath, ‘I vow’: cf. SWAN.
1841. E. G. PAIGE (‘Dow, Jr.’), Short Patent Sermons, III. 265 [BARTLETT]. What though, instead of saying, ‘I swear to God,’ you say, ‘I declare to goodness?’ It is as much the same thing as a bobolink with a new coat of feathers. I VUM is just the same in spirit as I vow, and a ‘diabolical falsehood’ is synonymous with a devilish lie.
1865. O. W. HOLMES, The Deacon’s Masterpiece.
| The Deacon swore (as Deacons do, | |
| With an ‘I dew VUM,’ or an ‘I tell yeou.’) |
1870. JUDD, Margaret, I. xii. ‘I VUM,’ said he, ‘I’m sorry. What is the matter?’
