Possibly they were intended, in the first instance, to rebuke the desire of the father that Jesus should go with him to Capernaum and pronounce over the boy words of healing.
"The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St. John, Vol. I"
Marcus Dods
Oh, you pronounce it T'urbyfil, just as if there were no 'h' in it.
"The Eye of Dread"
Payne Erskine
"Word will be sent to you some day," Tug said, as if the music had suggested it, "that little Ben is-" he paused, and shivered, dreading to pronounce the word word-"worse.
"The Mystery of the Locks"
Edgar Watson Howe