brouhaha

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

noun

1. excited public interest, discussion, or the like, as the clamor attending some sensational event; hullabaloo:

   The brouhaha followed disclosures of graft at City Hall.

2. 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.

brouhaha

/ ˈbruːhɑːhɑː /

noun

1. a loud confused noise; commotion; uproar

Word History and Origins

Origin of brouhaha¹

First recorded in 1885–90; from French, originally, brou, ha, ha! exclamation used by characters representing the devil in16th-century drama; perhaps from Hebrew, distortion of the recited phrase bārūkh habbā (beshēm ădōnai) “blessed is he who comes (in the name of the Lord)” (Psalms 118:26)

Word History and Origins

Origin of brouhaha¹

French, of imitative origin

Example Sentences

Last month, for example, there was a public brouhaha over the dismissal of a freelance editor, which worsened when the paper issued a statement on the matter.

From Washington Post

Given the brouhaha after the 2016 election, we knew we had to thoughtfully approach how we delivered the forecast.

From FiveThirtyEight

You know, like a mask but smaller and without all the political brouhaha.

From Voice of San Diego

Then came the book tour, and the brouhaha following that NPR interview.

From The Daily Beast

According to the blog, she soon “backtracked” on her comments, deleting the Facebook thread, and calling the brouhaha “childish.”

From The Daily Beast

As Eleanor Clift recently lamented, the brouhaha in Congress over food stamps is not just about budgets.

From The Daily Beast

Abraham Foxman, the national director of Anti-Defamation League, reacting to the Bieber brouhaha, said as much.

From The Daily Beast

Sino-Japanese frictions would be on the uptick about now even without the Diaoyu brouhaha.

From The Daily Beast

It was then I realized the Chief was still sitting in his chair, where he had been when the brouhaha started.

From Project Gutenberg

From afar the rumors of revelry, the brouhaha of a mad population, saluted his deaf ears, the distant music of lutes and viols.

From Project Gutenberg

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