phooey

[ foo-ee ]
See synonyms for phooey on Thesaurus.com
interjectionInformal.
  1. (an exclamation indicating rejection, contempt, or disgust): Phooey on all those political promises!

Origin of phooey

1
An Americanism first recorded in 1925–30; perhaps from German pfui! expression of disgust, conflated with English phoo! with similar force
  • Also pfu·i .

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use phooey in a sentence

  • The mounted police advanced with drawn swords against the rioters; the air was filled with shouts and cries of Pfui!

    What Germany Thinks | Thomas F. A. Smith
  • She shrugged her shoulders up to her ears and uttered a little sound like 'Pfui!'

    The Fifth Queen Crowned | Ford Madox Ford
  • Where theres life theres hope, he stamped his foot as he said it, but the lukewarm—pfui!

    Incredible Adventures | Algernon Blackwood
  • He sees the dead dog on the threshold; he says "Pfui" and tries to push it aside with his foot.

    The Outrage | Annie Vivanti
  • He has a wife, and she has a husband, and they each have a lot of children; so you see if it's true it really is very pfui.

British Dictionary definitions for phooey

phooey

/ (ˈfuːɪ) /


interjection
  1. informal an exclamation of scorn, contempt, disbelief, etc

Origin of phooey

1
C20: probably variant of phew

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012