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Say It Aint So. . .


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Could have swore one of my tank crews yelled, 'Boo Yah!" upon hitting a target.

Is it true, or are my ears playing tricks on me?

OK, I'm gonna admit my ignorance on this one,

The first time I ever heard 'Boo Yah!" said by anyone was when Smithers was trying to convince Mr Burns that people weren't booing him in an episode of The Simpsons (the title/plot of which escapes my memory - and the wifes in bed).

He claimed they were saying 'Boo Yah!"

And then, like some sinister B-movie plot I hear my American tank crews saying it whenever they scratch German paintwork.

Is this some US thing?

What does it mean?

How come I never heard it in coversation despite my English public school education?

Or am I just completely uncool when it comes to 1940's US slang?

Don't tell me that it's used in the UK (please) otherwise I'll feel stupid (again)...

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I'm not really up on my pop culture slang, but I'll make a best attempt here.

AFAIK, "Boo Yeah" is relatively recent American slang, dating back to the early 90s at the earliest. It is simply a generally impromptu exclaimation of success/victory, usually with a bit of an "in your face" connotation.

The first place I ever heard the phrase used was on TV by a sports commentator covering a basketball game, right after a player pulled of a really impressive slam-dunk. The context was something like, "Boo yeah! He really took it to them on that one!"

I suspect the phrase may originate with basketball, but I'm not sure.

In any event, I'm pretty confident that "Boo Yeah" was not part of the American lexicon in the 1940s. "Whoo Yeah" "Oh Yeah", and a variety of other similar-sounding exclaimations were, though.

As to it's use in England, I have no idea. From what I've seen when visiting the British Isles, basketball (and, indeed, American sports in general) are not very popular in England, so this particular bit of slang may not have crossed the pond.

Cheers,

YD

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