phooey

Also pfu·i

[foo-ee]

interjection

Informal.

1. (an exclamation indicating rejection, contempt, or disgust).

   Phooey on all those political promises!

phooey

/ ˈfuːɪ /

interjection

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of phooey¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1925–30; perhaps from German pfui! expression of disgust, conflated with English phoo! with similar force

Word History and Origins

Origin of phooey¹

C20: probably variant of _phew

Example Sentences

To all the baseball fans out there who are wringing their hands and proclaiming doom for MLB because the Dodgers have been flexing their financial muscle, I say PHOOEY!

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Well, phooey, I’m just really f— lucky. What a wonderful career I’ve had. I can’t believe it’s almost over — and I hope it’s not,” Bates says, clarifying that recent rumors of her retirement were greatly exaggerated.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Well, phooey, I’m just really f— lucky. What a wonderful career I’ve had the opportunity to play. I can’t believe it’s almost over — and I hope it’s not,” Bates says, clarifying that recent rumors of her retirement were greatly exaggerated.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Clips of vintage TV programmes such as Hong Kong Phooey, The Incredible Hulk and Dallas are shown alongside adverts for long defunct products.

Read more on BBC

The “can’t win the big one” thing is phooey.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cry 
• exclamation 
• expletive 
• insertion 
• interpolation 
• interposition 
• shout