English Language & Usage Asked on July 18, 2021
That muscle-tensing moment in time when you realize that you are watching a disaster unfold before your eyes and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it.
An “Oh, Shit!” moment is the perfect way to capture this, but I need it for formal correspondence where the vulgarity is unprofessional.
Here’s an example of the sentence I want to use:
It was not an “Oh, Shit!” moment for him, so I did not respond with an “Oh, Shit!” sense of urgency.
I settled on the words "panicked" and "crisis".
He did not seem panicked, so I did not respond as though it were a crisis.
Correct answer by Wes Sayeed on July 18, 2021
I would call that something along the lines of "a dawning sense of dread."
From Merriam-Webster:
Dawn: to begin to be understood
Dread: to fear something that will or might happen
Answered by cobaltduck on July 18, 2021
You might consider emergency or one of its synonyms. Here is some information about the word from ODO:
a serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situation requiring immediate action.
"your quick response in an emergency could be a lifesaver"
synonyms: crisis, urgent situation, extremity, exigency; accident, disaster, catastrophe, calamity; difficulty, plight, predicament, danger
"a military emergency"
arising from or needed or used in an emergency.
modifier noun: emergency
"an emergency exit"
synonyms: urgent, crisis; impromptu, extraordinary
"an emergency meeting"
Oxford Living Dictionaries
At the very least it might be a good place to start a thesaurus search.
The term uh-oh moment also came to mind, but that's probably a little too childish for what you're going for.
Answered by Kevin Workman on July 18, 2021
Google Books has a couple of dozen several instances of an “Oh Dear” moment, which is very close to OP's original without being in the least bit crude.
Answered by FumbleFingers on July 18, 2021
"Oops-a-daisy," but it might sound childish. "Oh, dear" or "oh, my" are rather good options.
Answered by SimoneS on July 18, 2021
It was not a pivotal moment for him, so I did not respond with that sense of urgency.
Pivotal Adjective
1 extremely important and affecting how something develops.a pivotal moment in the history of the Egyptian state.
He played a pivotal role in the negotiations.
Reference: Macmillan Dictionary | Archives: Archive.is/Waybackmachine
Answered by k1eran on July 18, 2021
I suggest shoot which the Oxford Dictionary of English by Angus Stevenson (2010 Ed.) defines as meaning:
Exclamation N. Amer. informal Used as a euphemism for ‘shit’: Shoot, it was a great day to be alive’
Oxford Living Dictionaries also provides us with the exemplary sentence: "Shoot! I've forgotten my book!"
And how about oh damn. (Longman)
Answered by haha on July 18, 2021
Oh, no!
It was not an "Oh, no!" moment for him, so I did not respond with an "Oh, no!" sense of urgency.
Answered by aparente001 on July 18, 2021
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