oh yeah, int. colloq. (orig. U.S.).
(əʊ ˈjɛə)
Also O yeah.
[f. oh int. + yeah.]
An exclamation or interrogative suggesting incredulity, disbelief, or scepticism; ‘really?’, ‘is that so?’. Also as quasi-adj.
| 1930 Forum Dec. 376/2 Only recently, that cultural masterpiece O yeah! sounded its death rattle. 1931 Loeb & Schenker Please Stand By xii. 138 ‘Oh, are you William Wishtell,’ the girl from the Globe asked... ‘I've been dying to meet you.’ ‘Oh, yeah? Well, here I am in the flesh.’ 1933 F. Scott Fitzgerald Let. 19 Oct. (1964) 237 No exclamatory ‘At last, the long awaited, etc.’ This merely creates the ‘Oh yeah’ mood in people. 1933 P. Godfrey Back-Stage xv. 194 They smiled indulgently, and greeted me with such remarks as ‘I should worry’ and ‘Oh, yeah!’ 1934 Daily Mirror 28 June 13/1 (heading) ‘Oh Yeah!’.. Observe that when you say, ‘Oh, yes,’ it doesn't mean at all the same thing as ‘Oh, yeah,’ when..you say that. ‘Oh, yeah’ means, really, ‘Oh, no’; or ‘you think you know about that do you, you guy, but I don't think you do, I don't.’ 1936 Variety 24 June 47/3 Oh, Yeah? Agency men claim they can guess within $250 of any quoted price on a picture name. 1937 H. G. Wells Star Begotten vii. 120 Confronted with an idea the American says ‘Oh yeah!’ or ‘Sez you’. 1943 Amer. Speech XVIII. 256 A representative group of Americanisms which have wide currency in Australia:..oh yeah. 1966 D. Francis Flying Finish vi. 74 ‘You look out, pal, you mustn't go around admitting that sort of thing...’ ‘Oh yeah?’ I said, laughing. |