hoo-ha

English

Alternative forms

• hoohaa, hoohar, hoo-haa, hoo-har, hoo-hah, hoohah

Etymology

Perhaps from Yiddish הו־האַ (hu-ha, “a hullabaloo”).

The second sense is likely expressive; compare such similar terms in other languages as Spanish juju.

(Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhuːˌhɑː/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

hoo-ha (plural hoo-has)

1. A fuss, uproar, commotion or stir; hype; brouhaha, hullabaloo.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:commotion

   There was a big hoo-ha about it in the papers, and then the world completely forgot the matter.

   • 2023 February 20, Vanessa Friedman, “Don Lemon, Nikki Haley and the Lessons of a Hoodie”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Tucker Carlson (also a jacket and tie guy) picked up on the hoo-ha on his Fox News show, calling the hoodie-jacket combination a “cry for help” and inviting Roger Stone, the disgraced former political operative and author of his own “Best and Worst dressed List,” to comment.

2. (slang, euphemistic) Vagina, vulva.
   • 2009, Linda Howard, Burn, page 242:

     Did that make her a good judge of character, or a fool who was letting her hoo-ha do her thinking for her?

   • 2009, Lexi Ryan, Stilettos, Inc., page 163:

     She didn't want to lose their childish battle of wills, but neither did she want some parasite swimming up her hoo-ha.

   • 2010, Dee Tenorio, All Or Nothing, page 54:

     His mother later expressed disappointment that she'd been wrong, but by then, Belinda had a butterfly on her hoo-ha.

   • 2024 April 13, Tara Davis-Woodhall, quotee, “‘My hoo haa is gonna be out’: US Olympians slam Nike for skimpy women’s track kit”, in The Guardian‎^[2], →ISSN:

     Tara Davis-Woodhall, an American who placed sixth in the long jump at the Tokyo Games and took silver at last year’s world championships, reacted with equal parts humor and horror, commenting: “Wait my hoo haa is gonna be out.”

Translations

a fuss, commotion, uproar

• Afrikaans: herrie, ophef
• Catalan: gatzara (ca) f, aldarull (ca) m, cridòria (ca) f, rebombori (ca) m, brogit (ca) m, avalot (ca) m, esvalot m
• Dutch: herrie (nl) f, drukte (nl) f, ophef (nl) m
• Finnish: hulabaloo (fi), meteli (fi), hässäkkä (fi), kohu (fi), haloo (fi)
• French: brouhaha (fr) m, tumulte (fr) m, tapage (fr), chahut (fr), bordel (fr)
• Italian: brusio (it)
• Spanish: algazara (es), barullo (es), alboroto (es), jaleo (es), escandalera (es) f (colloquial), descalzaperros m
• Swedish: ståhej (sv)

See also

• brouhaha

Anagrams

• hooah