
etymology - What is the origin of the term "woo"? - English Language ...
Aug 3, 2015 · On the Skeptics StackExchange you quite often read users referring to certain things and practices as "woo". What is the origin of this word? How did it come to be synonymous with skeptics?
What's the origin of saying "yoo hoo!" to get someone's attention?
The Oxford English Dictionary dates yoo-hoo to 1924, as noted by the American Dialect Society, and compares it to yo-ho, originally a nautical phrase also sometimes used in yo-heave-ho. Their first …
How do you spell 'hoo-wee!' - English Language & Usage Stack …
Nov 2, 2014 · Woo and woo-hoo (and variations like yahoo, yee-haw, and yippee) indicate excitement. (Woot, also spelled w00t among an online in-crowd, is a probably ephemeral variant.)
word usage - Boo as a term of endearment - English Language
Nov 19, 2018 · Here's an instance of "Boo Boo" as a pet name or term of endearment from The Martin Marauder and the Franklin Allens: A Wartime Love Story, published in 1980 but presented in the …
"Coquette" vs. "flirt" - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Oct 1, 2011 · What is the difference between coquette and flirt? They seem to mean the exact same thing; is it only their historical or etymological baggage that determines different usage?
How to represent an English police siren sound in writing?
Feb 27, 2024 · 3 I've seen "wee woo" used for all types of sirens, including ambulance and fire: Wee-woo! Wee-woo! It was the unmistakable sound of a police car siren. — Time Sneak
Onomatopoeia for sirens (police, ambulance, fire engines)
Aug 25, 2015 · 3 I like the one suggested by the UD: Wee woo: is the sound a siren makes. It is used in jest, to make fun of police cars, fire engines, ambulances, anything with a siren, really. Popularized …
Why are there 3 different ways to pronounce "oo"?
woo-. This isn’t a useful class of words to memorize, but they’re interesting in terms of etymology. The sequence wu is uncommon in English spelling (the letter w, as its name implies, used to be written …
What is the origin of the phrase 'touch wood'?
Jan 12, 2016 · Here is the entry for "knock on wood" in Robert Hendrickson, The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, fourth edition (2008): knock on wood. Why do we say …
"Boy howdy!" Where did this expression come from, who uses it, and …
Feb 20, 2023 · I recently became aware of "Boy howdy!" and figured it was some kind of rural expression of enthusiasm, but I want a bit more clarity. My first encounter was in a Western …