stone the crows

intj

"stone-the-crows" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stone the crows” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an interjection - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Generalized expression of surprise or amazement, or just for emphasis.

Key facts for stone the crows
PropertyValue
Headwordstone the crows
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “stone the crows” sits in English frequency

stone the crows falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for stone the crows is 15 letters long, classified as an interjection. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Generalized expression of surprise or amazement, or just for emphasis.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for stone the crows in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Originally Australian English of 1910s, "referring to the former occupation of watching over cornfields and stoning crows that attempt to plunder the crop." The correct English form is stone the crows, spelled S-T-O-N-E- -T-H-E- -C-R-O-W-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Generalized expression of surprise or amazement, or just for emphasis.

Etymology

Originally Australian English of 1910s, "referring to the former occupation of watching over cornfields and stoning crows that attempt to plunder the crop."

Synonyms

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "stone the crows"?
"stone the crows" is spelled S-T-O-N-E- -T-H-E- -C-R-O-W-S.
What does "stone the crows" mean?
As an interjection, "stone the crows" means: Generalized expression of surprise or amazement, or just for emphasis.
What is the origin of the word "stone the crows"?
Originally Australian English of 1910s, "referring to the former occupation of watching over cornfields and stoning crows that attempt to plunder the crop." See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “stone the crows”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-T-O-N-E- -T-H-E- -C-R-O-W-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list