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Etymology of Woo Woo vs. Woo

Woo's Woo anyway?
EB
 
The double woo-woo suggests origin in some natural sound. Owls do sound a bit woo-woo, I think, and ghosts stories may be echoed this fact in giving ghosts a woo-woo voice (that's what we do here in France anyway), although woo-woo should be more like woooooooooo-wooooooooo, but people probably decided at some point that woo-woo was good enough when not trying to actually scare children. From there it's reasonable to guess woo-woo was used as indicative of any woo-woo fantastic story. The hard-core materialist's use of "woo" as denoting all metaphysical bullshit must have come later, as a derivation from the main flow. Then, these busy people just decided cut the crap to a single "woo", possibly very soon after the derivation first occurred because people are usually faintly aware that they are coining a phrase or a term when they do.

Either that or some other woo.
EB
 
Speakpigeon said:
The double woo-woo suggests origin in some natural sound. Owls do sound a bit woo-woo, I think, and ghosts stories may be echoed this fact in giving ghosts a woo-woo voice (that's what we do here in France anyway), although woo-woo should be more like woooooooooo-wooooooooo, but people probably decided at some point that woo-woo was good enough when not trying to actually scare children. From there it's reasonable to guess woo-woo was used as indicative of any woo-woo fantastic story. The hard-core materialist's use of "woo" as denoting all metaphysical bullshit must have come later, as a derivation from the main flow. Then, these busy people just decided cut the crap to a single "woo", possibly very soon after the derivation first occurred because people are usually faintly aware that they are coining a phrase or a term when they do.

Either that or some other woo.
EB
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How do you in France spell woo-woo in French? I mean I remember being taught to pronounce wagon as vagon, w = v there. Do you spell it oua-ou or oi-ou, or have you resigned yourselves to the invasion of English/American slang into French?
 
4321lynx said:
Speakpigeon said:
The double woo-woo suggests origin in some natural sound. Owls do sound a bit woo-woo, I think, and ghosts stories may be echoed this fact in giving ghosts a woo-woo voice (that's what we do here in France anyway), although woo-woo should be more like woooooooooo-wooooooooo, but people probably decided at some point that woo-woo was good enough when not trying to actually scare children. From there it's reasonable to guess woo-woo was used as indicative of any woo-woo fantastic story. The hard-core materialist's use of "woo" as denoting all metaphysical bullshit must have come later, as a derivation from the main flow. Then, these busy people just decided cut the crap to a single "woo", possibly very soon after the derivation first occurred because people are usually faintly aware that they are coining a phrase or a term when they do.

Either that or some other woo.
EB
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How do you in France spell woo-woo in French?
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I spell it w-o-o-w-o-o. As one always should.

I mean I remember being taught to pronounce wagon as vagon, w = v there. Do you spell it oua-ou or oi-ou, or have you resigned yourselves to the invasion of English/American slang into French?
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The Gauls are a fractious lot and each one does pretty much as s/he likes so it doesn't matter however hard one wants to resist the invasion of English words since there will be half the population to use them without even being aware of it. However, most French will mindlessly massacre the pronounciation of just about any foreign word. So Corbyn is often pronounced corbine, without rime or reason. There.
EB
 
I wondered, because note the Quebec French spelling of Ottawa, that is the Region, the First Nation, and the River. (The name of the city is spelled Ottawa as in English)

Ottawa river = rivière des Outaouais.

Or perhaps one should say look at the peculiar English version of Outaouais; after all, the French were there first.
 
This is slang and it is human language.

The external expressions of language constantly change. What is most flexible about language is vocabulary.

And most of the change comes from very young people. Especially from those who feel isolated in some way. A form of rebellion.

But "woo woo" never went to just "woo". It is now both. They both mean the same thing.

Some idea that does not have evidence to support it.
 
Kharakov said:
Are etymological questions social science?


I was discussing woo with a woo peddler at some point, and she told me her generation (born around 1940s) called it "woo woo" instead of woo. I noticed fromderinside used the turn of phrase "woo woo" as well.

At what point did woo woo become woo? I can't find any certifiably non-wooish description of the etymological roots of either.
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Sorry, put what does a woo peddlar sell?
 
Kharakov said:
Are etymological questions social science?


I was discussing woo with a woo peddler at some point, and she told me her generation (born around 1940s) called it "woo woo" instead of woo. I noticed fromderinside used the turn of phrase "woo woo" as well.

At what point did woo woo become woo? I can't find any certifiably non-wooish description of the etymological roots of either.
Click to expand...

I said woo woo until the 90'ies sometime. I'm guessing it's one of the pre/post Internet one's. Internet did a lot to the language when it came.
 
iolo said:
Kharakov said:
Are etymological questions social science?


I was discussing woo with a woo peddler at some point, and she told me her generation (born around 1940s) called it "woo woo" instead of woo. I noticed fromderinside used the turn of phrase "woo woo" as well.

At what point did woo woo become woo? I can't find any certifiably non-wooish description of the etymological roots of either.
Click to expand...

Sorry, put what does a woo peddlar sell?
Click to expand...

Literally water for $50 a bottle? Heated cups attached to the skin that bruise the skin and do nothing else? Read your non-existent aura? Read your future, as if they could? Re-align your already straight spine? Take your pick.
 
DrZoidberg said:
iolo said:
Sorry, put what does a woo peddlar sell?
Click to expand...

Literally water for $50 a bottle? Heated cups attached to the skin that bruise the skin and do nothing else? Read your non-existent aura? Read your future, as if they could? Re-align your already straight spine? Take your pick.
Click to expand...

Ah. It's been kept from me here. Ta.
 
Ok, got it:
(1941)
"A private phone line and a foldout bed for woo-woo. Brenda Allen's girls had carte blanche. The back room was open-all-nite. It serviced a ranking-cop clientele."
James Ellroy, Perfidia, Chapter 15.

So the question is, is it possible there's a connection between the kind of woo-woo being discussed here (so far) and wooing? For example, since wooing is regarded by some as a sort of nonsense...
EB
 
I thought woo woo was less than thrilled and you point your palms to the sky and say 'woo woo'

Woo is just stupid non-science.
 
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