Phooey has a respectable lineage as an English interjection and goes back to the 1600s. The Oxford English Dictionary says the expression “phoo” was first recorded in 1671 and defines it as “expressing contemptuous rejection, cursory dismissal (of a proposition, idea, etc.), disagreement, or reproach”. Shakespeare didn’t use it, but another 17th Century playwright did.
© 2024 John Oliver
Substack is the home for great culture