heigh-ho

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈheɪˌhəʊ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈhaɪˈhoʊ/, /ˈheɪˈhoʊ/
• Homophone: hey ho

Noun

heigh-ho (plural heigh-hos)

1. Colaptes auratus, northern flicker.

Verb

heigh-ho (third-person singular simple present heigh-hos, present participle heigh-hoing, simple past and past participle heigh-hoed)

1. (intransitive) To chant "heigh-ho".
   • 1927, Porterfield, William M., Bamboo and its uses in China, Chinese Government Bureau of Economic Information, Booklet Series 2, p.40. Cited in David Farrelly, The Book of Bamboo, p.25; Sierra Club Books, 1984.

     Big bamboo poles are used for carrying heavy loads in China. In the cities one hears the familiar antiphonal “heigh-ho'ing”, indicating that a heavy load is being moved somewhere. The heavier the load, the louder and more agonized the chant.

Interjection

heigh-ho

1. Used as a cadence-count used for synchronized walking, marching, pulling, lifting, etc.
   • 1937, Larry Morey (lyricist), Heigh-Ho, song in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)

     Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to work we go, ...

2. Alternative spelling of hey ho.