I'll be a son of a gun
"i-ll-be-a-son-of-a-gun" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“I'll be a son of a gun” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 22
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Expressing surprise or disbelief.
Corpus desk
Index EN-i-ll-be-a-son-of-a-gun · I'll be a son of a gun · English
I'll be a son of a gun · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 22 letters
- VOW-7 7 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "I" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | I'll be a son of a gun |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| Letters | 22 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “I'll be a son of a gun” in English
Rare enough to double-check
I'll be a son of a gun is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aninterjection. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Expressing surprise or disbelief.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for I'll be a son of a gun, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Compare son of a gun. The correct English form is I'll be a son of a gun, spelled I-'-L-L- -B-E- -A- -S-O-N- -O-F- -A- -G-U-N.
Definition
- 1Expressing surprise or disbelief.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how I'll be a son of a gun appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Digging her hands excitedly down into the pockets of her dress Ardita stared at him, speechless with astonishment. […] “Well, I’ll be a son of a gun!” she said dazedly.
Etymology
Compare son of a gun.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.