Hmmnnn ...

"Hmmnnn ... "
I've recently been thinking about the depth of this word. It seems to have numerous meanings and is open to interpretation in several ways.

Lets think of a situation ...

Lets say you've done some work x and given it to your boss for his review or comments or suggestions or approval and the deadline to dispatch it off to the next level is looming large. You're panicking to get it out ....
Frustrated for not getting any feedback from your boss, you approach him ...

You : Boss, what do you think about x
Boss : ...no response

long pause (youre presence is completely ignored !)

You : (hesitatingly) Boss .... did you see what .... er..
The boss looks up and stares at you straight in the eye.
Looks down and says "Hmmnnn....."

....Silence .....

You think ... will the proverbial truth ever come out....

Quietly you step out of his office ... not knowing what to do...

It is at this point that you try to interpret his "Hmnnn...." and come up with following possibles...

1. The Boss is Ok with your work
2. The Boss is Ok with your work, but does not want to acknowledge it
3. He likes your work
4. He does not like that you've done a good job
5. He's jealous of your doing a great job
6. He hates your work
7. He hates your work and is thinking how to strangle you
8. He's seen it but is clueless about it
9. Doesn't know what the next level wants
10. He's not seen it.

So you are still in a quandary ...

In fact "Hmmnnn..." has the merits of being a perfect response to most questions. I ran some checks on the legal use of this particular word and here's what I found...
In a board room meeting or in a court of law, silence or no answer can be construed as a yes. But Hmmmnn... is not silence... but its also not an answer. Hence its a very politically and legally correct statement to make.

Moral of the story ................... Hmnnn.....