hooty

English

Etymology

hoot +‎ -y

Adjective

hooty (comparative hootier, superlative hootiest)

1. Characterised by a hooting sound.
   • 1988, Peter Hugh Reed, American record guide: Volume 51:

     Kegel has a distant, underpowered chorus and a dull orchestra. Tempos are too rushed for effect, and the interpretation is downright delicate - totally inappropriate. A hooty, scratchy soprano and a stiff baritone don't help.

   • 1998, American Record Guide - Volume 61, Issues 4-6, page 241:

     Berg's partner here, Sophie Daneman, a young British soprano, has a small, pure, lyric voice that occasionally turns hooty (characteristic of many Britsh sopranos).

   • 2007, Caroline Plaisted, 10 Ways to Cope with Boys, page 65:

     The hooty noise came again and this time seemed much closer.

   • 2008 March 18, Natalie Angier, “In Most Species, Faithfulness Is a Fantasy”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     Oh, there are plenty of animals in which males and females team up to raise young, as we do, that form “pair bonds” of impressive endurance and apparent mutual affection, spending hours reaffirming their partnership by snuggling together like prairie voles or singing hooty, doo-wop love songs like gibbons, or dancing goofily like blue-footed boobies.

2. (slang) Very funny; hilarious; fit to make one hoot with laughter.
   • 1994, Variety TV REV 1991-92 17, page 4:

     It's the kind of hooty melodrama Burnett used to spoof, but new series doesn't know where to look for laughs, with lame ideas lamely written (a cavewoman discovers cow's milk; Burnett is forced to impersonate her own celebrity look-alike) and others (a gay guy in Antarctica, Spike Lee ripoffs) that are striving so hard to be hip.

   • 2004, Pour Me a Video -, page 66:

     Every time you turn around, there she is this summer in The Very best of Cher: The Video Hits Collection (Warner Bors. Records), not to mention her hooty '60s movies Good Times and Chastity (both MGM Home Video).

   • 2003 June 10, “Great Summer Reading”, in The Advocate, number 891, page 47:

     In this hooty gay twist on those "choose your own adventure" paperbacks, you have to save yourself from zombie drag queens

See also

• hooty tooty