brouhaha

[broo-hah-hah, broo-hah-hah, broo-hah-hah]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR brouhaha ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

excited public interest, discussion, or the like, as the clamor attending some sensational event; hullabaloo: The brouhaha followed disclosures of graft at City Hall.

an episode involving excitement, confusion, turmoil, etc., especially a broil over a minor or ridiculous cause: A brouhaha by the baseball players resulted in three black eyes.

Origin of brouhaha

1885–90; < French, orig. brou, ha, ha! exclamation used by characters representing the devil in the 16th-cent. drama; perhaps < Hebrew, distortion of the recited phrase bārūkh habbā (beshēm ădhōnai) “blessed is he who comes (in the name of the Lord)” (Ps. 118:26)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for brouhaha

melee, fracas, ado, to-do, row, setto

Examples from the Web for brouhaha

Contemporary Examples of brouhaha

Then came the book tour, and the brouhaha following that NPR interview.
Isabel Allende’s Controversial New Thriller
Jane Ciabattari
February 23, 2014
According to the blog, she soon “backtracked” on her comments, deleting the Facebook thread, and calling the brouhaha “childish.”
An Absurd Push for Separation of Religion and State in Canada
Mira Sucharov
November 15, 2013
As Eleanor Clift recently lamented, the brouhaha in Congress over food stamps is not just about budgets.
Supreme Court on Gay Marriage, Voting Rights, and More
Lloyd Green
June 23, 2013
Abraham Foxman, the national director of Anti-Defamation League, reacting to the Bieber brouhaha, said as much.
OK, Anne Frank COULD Have Been a Belieber
Kevin Fallon
April 15, 2013
Sino-Japanese frictions would be on the uptick about now even without the Diaoyu brouhaha.
China Is Protesting, Too
Melinda Liu
September 17, 2012

Historical Examples of brouhaha

From afar the rumors of revelry, the brouhaha of a mad population, saluted his deaf ears, the distant music of lutes and viols.
Dreamers of the Ghetto
I. Zangwill
It was then I realized the Chief was still sitting in his chair, where he had been when the brouhaha started.
Arm of the Law
Harry Harrison

British Dictionary definitions for brouhaha

brouhaha

noun

a loud confused noise; commotion; uproar

Word Origin for brouhaha

French, of imitative origin

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

Word Origin and History for brouhaha

1890, from French brouhaha (1550s), said by Gamillscheg to have been, in medieval theater, "the cry of the devil disguised as clergy." Perhaps from Hebrew barukh habba' "blessed be the one who comes," used on public occasions (cf. Psalm 118).