hey, you remember that scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey, where the monkeys were puzzling over the monolith?
I think, when I read you hey, that's what happened to me in that kitchen—why didn't I write about it?
Amid some media tumult, the first President Bush had to come out and say in essence, hey, kidding.
hey, now that cycling is out, maybe he can get Victoria Gotti to give him a ride on her Harley.
To do so, I heard from every corner, I should learn how to say something specific in Korean: Young so hey choo ship sho.
But the land is an enemy to be feared, while the Frenchman is not—hey!
Chance for me to rasp him, hey, by wishing you onto the family?
You can't find out where he gets all that india-rubber, hey Willems?
Tim Short used ter shirk on him 'ceptin' when I knowed it, an'—— hey!
Do not let us cover ourselves with shame—shall we, hey, my children?
c.1200, variously, in Middle English, hei, hai, ai, he, heh, expressing challenge, rebuttal, anger, derision, sorrow, or concern; also a shout of encouragement to hunting dogs. Possibly a natural expression (cf. Roman eho, Greek eia, German hei).
Þa onswerede þe an swiðe prudeliche, `Hei! hwuch wis read of se icudd keiser!' ["St. Katherine of Alexandria," c.1200]In Latin, hei was a cry of grief or fear; but heia, eia was an interjection denoting joy.
interjection
An exclamation used to underscore mildly what is said: Pennzoil has been arguing that, hey, they are reasonable people/ I tried explaining that, hey, basically a goose is just a big duck/ Hey, I'm only human
[1980s+; the use is attenuated from the ancient call for attention found by 1225]
