How, Gulp!, You Get Sick

The capitalisation suggests it is a headline or title. As discussed before, normal rules are often ignored in such writing. As a sentence it is crude and rather badly punctuated, (comma after exclamation mark and no period at the end) more suited to conversation that written English. In this case I think "Gulp!" is an onomatopeic interjection which is intended to convey the idea of swallowing a drink. I think the writer is thinking of beer or soft drinks which are often gulped (swallowed in larger amounts at a time) rather than wine or stronger drinks which are sipped or merely swallowed. Also sometimes people humorously say (or write) "Gulp!" to convey the idea of swallowing convulsively in fright, e.g. at the sight of a ghost. Maybe the writer intends to conflate these two ideas.

It is not the gulping of the drink which might make a person ill (or "sick" as Americans say) but the application of the mouth to the rim of a shared drinking vessel such as a glass or cup which makes ingestion of another (infected) person's saliva more likely.

Compare to this:

How, Bang! You Hurt Your Thumb
While Nailing Wood, Be Careful With The Hammer

Or this

How, Tick! Tick! Tick! A Noisy Clock Can Keep You Awake
When Buying A Bedroom Clock, Choose A Quiet One

spit, how onomatopoetic

Typo alert!



Of course I meant "than written English"

I dont get the usage how there. How, also an onomatopoetic word?

It's got kind of a double meaning. "gulp" here is kind of a verbal punctuation mark. When you're taken aback, or startled, or worried, you may gasp, or swallow hard (gulp) or inhale sharply thru your mouth (gasp). To indicate this in written informal speech, people sometimes put that reaction into what they write, e.g. "I thought, gasp, I saw a ghost" Could also do it in parentheses, or with an exclamation mark--it's not standardized. The headline writer is playing on that with the "Gulp". You could gulp at the thought of getting sick, which no one likes, but in this case that "gulp" is also the gulping of a drink that you're sharing with someone else, so you pick up their germs. Double meaning.

Thank you
So the title means "How You Get Sick" with "gulping around" ?

Thanks.
At least I've learnt something from what you explained. I'd like to if one does not gulp, then the title would be "How You Get Sick"?

The title means two things at once:

1. How you can get sick by drinking. (Gulp=drink)

2. How, Oh Dear! You can get sick. (Gulp!=utterance of alarm)

Thank you.