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croaked

Verb
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Spoke or sang in a rough, low, hoarse voice, often suggesting age, illness, grief, or an animal-like harshness in poetic description.

Detailed Definition
In literary and colloquial usage, croaked can mean to utter something in a rough, croaking voice, not only “died” or “made a frog-like sound.” The poem uses it to underline Barney’s comic, strained singing style.
Example
Example in poetry:
“He croaked out a ballad” makes singing sound rough, hoarse, or frog-like; “The raven croaked from the rain-soaked rail” uses the verb for an animal’s harsh call; “My grandfather croaked, ‘Come in,’” gives speech an exhausted texture; Croaked can be comic, ominous, or tender depending on the speaker and soundscape
Additional Notes
In “croaked out a ballad,” the verb is used in a specialized figurative sense that may not be obvious at first glance.; Found in the poem, Love is Deaf: The Ballad of Barney McBard by Richard
Also Known As
died passed away expired perished
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