'Eeeeeee!' A much used word in Sunderland which means nothing and everything, all at the same time

As reported in the Echo, the Eeeeeee! sign close to Sunderland's Premier Inn has proved a big success. It was hailed as an instant classic when it was unveiled only a few months ago.

Officially titled The Mackem Shibboleth, it is certainly a conversation piece among Wearsiders.

Fittingly, upon seeing the red neon artwork for the first time, those conversations often begin with: "Eeeeeee! Look at that."

The artist behind the piece, Erin Dickson, said: "The region-defining exclamation we take the most pleasure in hearing is the prolonged gasp of 'Eeeeee!'

"Described in the Oxford English Dictionary since 1999 as the ‘northern English form of 'Oh!’, 'Eeeeee!' is the most adaptable utterance in the Mackem language."

The sign means that the word now has an accepted spelling (seven e's) and, as Erin Dickson says, it is most certainly adaptable. Indeed, it's as versatile as an egg, but is not a verb, noun, adjective, pronoun... So what does it mean?

Well, in literal terms it means nothing at all; something it shares with another favoured Wearside expression "Why mind 'ere". However, both expressions can convey much and can be seamlessly used in the same sentence.

To wit: "Eeeeeee! Why mind 'ere" - meaning "I comprehend what you say and am aware of the irony of the situation to which you allude."

But "Eeeeeee!" is a wonderfully elastic expression with multiple uses to which dictionary compilers are probably oblivious. It can be:

An exclamation of surprise: Eeeeee! I never knew that.

An exclamation of shock: Eeeeee! You nearly gave me a heart attack.

A denotation that someone is telling fibs: Eeeeee! You've never bought me flowers in your life.

An exclamation of resignation: Eeeeee! I suppose I'd better get the round in.

An exclamation of critical disapproval: Eeeeee! Is he supposed to be a centre-forward?

An exclamation of emotion: Eeeeee! My mother was a beautiful woman.

An expression of sternness: Eeeeee! You'd better get that bedroom tidied.

An exclamation of wistfulness: Eeeeee! That was a great day out we had in Witherwack.

A philosophical utterance: Eeeeeee! It makes you think.

And this in an incomplete list. Please pass this information on to tourists.