A.Word.A.Day --yahoo

A.Word.A.Day

About | Media | Search | Contact

Home

Today's Word

yahoo

PRONUNCIATION:

(noun: YAH-hoo, interjection: ya-HOO)

MEANING:

noun: A person who is boorish, loud, disruptive, etc.
interjection: Expressing excitement, delight, or triumph.

ETYMOLOGY:

For noun: After Yahoos, a race of brutish creatures in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. Earliest documented use: 1751.
For interjection: Apparently of echoic origin. Earliest documented use: 1976.

USAGE:

“Delta CEO Ed Bastian is proposing a solution to passengers who create in-flight troubles -- a lifetime ban from flying, at least on Delta. ... Bastian should follow through on his proposal, and other airlines should consider similar bans. Doing so might prove an actual deterrent to the yahoos who think they have the right to behave badly and turn a simple flight onto an ordeal for fellow passengers and the flight crew.”
Keep the Skies Friendly; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania); Feb 9, 2021.

See more usage examples of yahoo in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Creativity -- like human life itself -- begins in darkness. We need to acknowledge this. All too often, we think only in terms of light: "And then the lightbulb went on and I got it!" It is true that insights may come to us as flashes. It is true that some of these flashes may be blinding. It is, however, also true that such bright ideas are preceded by a gestation period that is interior, murky, and completely necessary. -Julia Cameron, artist, author, teacher, filmmaker, composer, and journalist (b. 4 Mar 1948)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise