Yay, Hooray, Woo-hoo and Other Acclamations

Yay, Hooray, Woo-hoo and Other Acclamations Yay, Hooray, Woo-hoo and Other Acclamations Yay, Hooray, Woo-hoo and Other Acclamations By Mark Nichol Traditional exclamations of triumph or vindication come into and go out of fashion, but they tend to beget variations, and they usually begin with one of several similar sounds, as exemplified by yay, hooray, and woo-hoo. Here’s a discussion of those terms of acclamation and others, all of which are almost invariably followed by exclamation points to signal enthusiastic delivery. Yay is simply an alternate spelling of yeah or yea, which have distinct pronunciations and meanings. (Yeah, an informal variant of yes, is pronounced â€Å"ya† and sometimes spelled that way; yea, which sounds like yay, survives as an affirmation in biblical contexts and as a counterpart to nay in voting contexts.) Hooray is an alternate spelling of hurrah; both go back hundreds of years, and two other, less common variants, hurray and hooray, are nearly as old. (They all stem from huzza- emphasis is on the second syllable- which dates back to the time of Shakespeare and survives only at â€Å"faires† that recreate a Renaissance environment.) These words can also refer to a cheer or a fanfare, or excitement, and the oldest sometimes denotes a disturbance, as in â€Å"There was a big hurrah about something happening down the street.† Woo-hoo, also spelled whoo-hoo or truncated as whoo- the variation woot, sometimes spelled with zeros instead of o’s, originated in computer gaming- is very recent and has no etymological basis; it’s basically a sound effect, although it’s close in sound to whoop, which derives from the Old French term huper (also spelled houper), which means â€Å"cry† or â€Å"shout.† (Whoop is the source of whoopee, meaning â€Å"revelry,† which developed into the euphemism â€Å"making whoopee† for â€Å"having sex† and was in vogue for a time as part of the name of the whoopee cushion, a novelty device that simulates flatulence when an unsuspecting person sits on it.) Other exclamations of triumph or delight include wahoo, whee, yahoo, yee-haw, and yippee, which all go back a century or so. (The noun yahoo, referring to a coarse, ignorant person, is unrelated; it derives from the name of a race of brutish humans in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.) Hallelujah (from the Hebrew word hallÄ•lÃ… «yÄ h, meaning â€Å"Praise the Lord†) is sometimes substituted even by the nonreligious. More recent cries of triumph include aha or simply hah, rah, and uh-huh (pronounced with a rising inflection), or simply yes with an exaggerated, elongated pronunciation of the final consonant. Boo-ya is an outdated, mercifully short-lived expression of triumph with a mocking edge. Exclamations of opprobrium are much more limited in variety: The basic critical cry is boo (which is also an exclamation delivered suddenly when someone makes an attempt to frighten one or more others); aw is more an interjection of disappointment than one of disapproval. Criticism in contexts in which acclamations are used, such as sporting events, tend to be delivered as statements; among the more restrained are comments such as, â€Å"You’ve got to be kidding me.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Creative Writing 10140 Fish IdiomsPeople vs. Persons

Quotations About Fun by the Famous

Quotations About Fun by the Famous Fun is a state of mind. If you have a zest for life, you will wont miss out on making the most of the  good times. Do you go through life uptight and worried and need the  inspiration to chill out? These quotes will remind you of the fun moments in your life and that the key to a good life is to have fun. Quotes From Famous People About Having Fun Katharine Hepburn If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun. Dr. Seuss Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. Albert Einstein Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Sid Caesar In between goals is a thing called life that has to be lived and enjoyed. Alfred Souza Dance as though no one is watching you; love as though you have never been hurt before, sing as though no one can hear you, live as though heaven is on earth. Bob Basso If its not fun, youre not doing it right. Walt Disney Its kind of fun to do the impossible. TS Eliot If you havent the strength to impose your own terms upon life, you must accept the terms it offers you. Randy Pausch I am going to keep having fun every day I have  left​ because there is no other way of life. You just have to decide whether you are a Tigger or an Eeyore. Albert Einstein Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves. Thomas A. Edison I never did a days work in my life. It was all fun. Woody Allen Man consists of two parts, his mind and his body, only the body has more fun. Fred Couples Golf is supposed to be fun, but I dont think anything is fun if youre not doing it reasonably well. Jerry Seinfeld The Four Levels of Comedy: Make your friends laugh, Make strangers laugh, Get paid to make strangers laugh, and Make people talk like you because its so much fun. Adam Carolla If you want to have a good life, you should focus on your family, on your business, on your dog, on your fun, and youll have a good life. Rickey Henderson Once you can accept failure, you can have fun and success. Herodotus If a man insisted always on being serious, and never allowed himself a bit of fun and relaxation, he would go mad or become unstable without knowing it. Tom Wilson About the only time losing is more fun than winning is when youre fighting temptation. Jimmy Fallon Have fun is my message. Be silly. Youre allowed to be silly. Theres nothing wrong with it. Nancy Mitford I love children, especially when they cry, for then someone takes them away. Mark Twain Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen. James Hetfield Its all fun and games till someone loses an eye, then its just fun you cant see.