boo (interj. 1800, v. 1833)

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Thu, Apr 9, 2009 at 11:06 AM, Mark Mandel <thnidu at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Thu, Apr 9, 2009 at 1:01 AM, Benjamin Zimmer <
> bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
>
> > My latest Word Routes column is on the origins of booing:
> >
> > http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1811/
[...]
> > 1800 Maria Edgeworth _Castle Rackrent_ 76 Oh, boo! boo! (says I,
> > making light of it, to see what he would go on to next).
> > [Footnote: "Boo! Boo! an exclamation equivalent to Pshaw! or Nonsense."]
>
> Any connection to "Pooh, pooh!"?

In the column, I do mention that "boo" was preceded by other derisive
interjections using /u/, including "pooh". What distinguishes "boo"
from those earlier interjections, however, is its use as a crowd noise
(akin to whistling, hissing, and other catcalls) starting in the early
19th century.


--Ben Zimmer

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