Prime "Yee-Ha"! Vector Identified At Last

[Jonathan Lighter]

The veils of memory have finally parted to reveal the indubitable prime media vector of "Yeeha!" into general American usage:

  Speedy Gonzales.

  View the Fastest Mouse in All Mexico here in his first released cartoon, "Cat-Tails for Two" (1953).

  http://video.aol.com/video/cat-tails-for-two/1789318

  The mouse's first lines are "Andale! Andale! Yee-haa! Arriba!" He repeats all elements throughout the six-minute cartoon. And a million times in later appearances. His pronunciation of the second vowel is always "ah" rather than "aw."

  Speedy Gonzales cartoons began appearing regularly on ABC Television as part of _The Bugs Bunny Show_ in 1962; the first Speedy cartoon broadcast on nationwide TV ("Gonzales' Tamales) is said to have been shown on August 7, 1962 [http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/tv/bbshow/].

  I will leave the earlier history of "Yee-Ha!" in Spanish to others.

  JL





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