different between hokey vs hooey

English

Alternative forms

• hokie, hoaky, hoky

Etymology

From the verb hoke (“to give an artificial feel to”), from hokum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?h??ki/
• (US) IPA: /?ho?ki/

  Rhymes: -??ki

Adjective

hokey (comparative hokier, superlative hokiest)

1. (US, colloquial) phony, as if a hoax; noticeably contrived; of obviously flimsy credibility or quality

2. (US, colloquial) corny; overly or unbelievably sentimental

   Synonyms: cheesy, kitschy

Related terms

• hokiness
• hoke
• hokum

Translations

See also

• Hokey Cokey
• hokeypokey
• hokey-tokey

Further reading

• “hokey”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?hu?.i/
• Rhymes: -u?i

Etymology 1

Possibly related to phooey, possibly a euphemism for horseshit, or possibly from Russian ??? (xuj). Compare hooie (interjection) and German hui.

Alternative forms

• hooie

Noun

hooey (uncountable)

1. (slang) Silly talk or writing; nonsense, silliness, or fake assertion(s).

   I heard his speech. It sounded like a whole lot of hooey to me.

   • 2006, Ronald H. Hoffman (with Sidney Stevens), How to Talk with Your Doctor: The Guide for Patients and Their Physicians Who Want to Reconcile and Use the Best of Conventional and Alternative Medicine, ReadHowYouWant.com (2008), pages 216–217:

     For many doctors, meditation resides in the realm of New Age hooey—okay for Indian yogis and students of Eastern religion, but not suitable for scientific study.

   • 2010, Kate Sheppard, "Outgoing GOPer Slams Climate Denying Colleagues", Mother Jones, 18 November 2010:

     Unburdened by the prospect of another campaign, Inglis, in this final hearing, spared no scorn for climate change deniers in his own party and beyond, suggesting that they continue to ignore global warming at their own peril. "I would also suggest to my free enterprise colleagues—especially conservatives here—whether you think it’s all a bunch of hooey, what we've talked about in this committee, the Chinese don’t," the South Carolina Republican said in his opening remarks. "And they plan on eating our lunch in this next century."

   • 2011 October 13, Chuck Lorre, Eric Kaplan & Maria Ferrari, "The Russian Rocket Reaction", episode 5-5 of The Big Bang Theory, 00:16:47–00:17:00:

     Sheldon Cooper: I did, but I think I've kind of outgrown Star Trek. You know, stock characters, ludicrous plots, beam me up. What a load of hooey.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:nonsense

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

hooey (plural hooeys)

1. (slang) A hog-tie performed in a rodeo show.