Did Randi invent the term "woo"?

[Piggy]

Should have been a longer title, but it would be too long.

My question really is: Did Randi either invent or popularize the term "woo" (or "woo-woo") to mean general flakey bogosity?

It seems every year I run across it more frequently in the press.

Today I saw it here (http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2008/07/reiki_for_rats.php).

What's anyone's earliest cite for this term with that meaning?

My first encounter with that sense of the word was through Randi, and I do a lot of reading, both about legitimate research and general flakey bogosity.

[jakesteele]

Should have been a longer title, but it would be too long.

My question really is: Did Randi either invent or popularize the term "woo" (or "woo-woo") to mean general flakey bogosity?

It seems every year I run across it more frequently in the press.

Today I saw it here (http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2008/07/reiki_for_rats.php).

What's anyone's earliest cite for this term with that meaning?

My first encounter with that sense of the word was through Randi, and I do a lot of reading, both about legitimate research and general flakey bogosity.

I heard about it about a year ago when I first came to this site. The reason I came was I had read about the term 'pseudoskepticism' pertaining to Randi, et al. I imagine woo was around longer than that. It is probably a derivation of 'koo koo' which has been around for a long time.

[roger]

My memory is of DeBunk starting it while cursing out AForce1, along the lines of "what a ******** koo koo, jump on the woo woo train to loserville". Of course, the phrase might have already existed at that point, but this was back when the forum was just starting up (I lurked from nearly the beginning, only joining in 2002).

I'm pretty sure the great forum purge destroyed those posts.

[LTC8K6]

I'm sure it was Curley.

[ScottGPDX]

No

[Ocelot]

Earliest citation here (http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/woo_woo/) is 1986


Carol M. Ostrom Seattle Times (Wash.) (June 20) “In The Spirit—New Age Adherents Follow A Personal Path” p. E1: Of course, not everyone who thinks that science doesn’t tell all would think it’s reasonable to believe, as Gibson does, that one can program crystals with thought energy. But Gibson says there is ample evidence—both scientific and subjective—that crystals can help in healing and transformation. “You can say it’s woo-woo,” she says with a laugh. “But it works. I go with what works.”

[kookbreaker]

The term was well in use on USENET before Randi had it on his website. We joked that when Randi started using it the term had reached the 'big-time'.

[Piggy]

Thank you, Ocelot and kookbreaker!

[Big Les]

This is also in response to this (http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?p=4955631) recent thread as to the origin of 'woo', but a Google Books search (http://books.google.co.uk/books?&lr=&as_brr=0&q=woo-oo+ghost&btnG=Search+Books&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=1900&as_maxm_is=1&as_maxy_is=1930) shows 'woo' and 'woo-oo' as something that ghosts say as far back as 1915 (possibly 1904 - can't quite discern the context). Randi certainly didn't invent the term, but he certainly has popularised it in association with anything paranormal, not just ghosts.

[Spektator]

Not quite the same sense, but Mel Brooks used "woowoo" in High Anxiety (1977) during Dr. Thorndyke's talk on the erogenous zones.

[Piggy]

This is also in response to this (http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?p=4955631) recent thread as to the origin of 'woo', but a Google Books search (http://books.google.co.uk/books?&lr=&as_brr=0&q=woo-oo+ghost&btnG=Search+Books&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=1900&as_maxm_is=1&as_maxy_is=1930) shows 'woo' and 'woo-oo' as something that ghosts say as far back as 1915 (possibly 1904 - can't quite discern the context). Randi certainly didn't invent the term, but he certainly has popularised it in association with anything paranormal, not just ghosts.

Well, that is most likely how it came to be associated with GFB. Either that, or the spooky Theremin music used in 50s sci-fi flicks.

There's often a quavering hand gesture that goes along with the term "woo-woo" when it's used to refer to GFB.

[Gravy]

The term was well in use on USENET before Randi had it on his website. We joked that when Randi started using it the term had reached the 'big-time'.Randi did, however, invent USENET.

[TjW]

My brother and I were using the term woo or woo-woo, back in the early to mid seventies, whenever it was Uri Geller first got publicity in the U.S. We didn't invent it, but the term was around then.

[Chris Haynes]

On the point of what was on Usenet, Peter Bowditch saved a webpage from someone who used to post on Usenet quite often:
http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/comment/woowoocredo.htm

[Piggy]

I think it's likely that the term sprang up in multiple places. It's one of those terms that just makes sense. Like you're in a room in a house late at night and something strange happens. Everybody gets quiet and someone says "Woooooo!" in an eerie tone, meaning "Boy, that was spooky!"

[rjh01]

My Compact Oxford English Dictionary (second edition) says woo-woo means an imitation of the sound of wind. It does not list any other meanings for that word. It gives several meanings for woo, none relevant.

[Piggy]

My Compact Oxford English Dictionary (second edition) says woo-woo means an imitation of the sound of wind. It does not list any other meanings for that word. It gives several meanings for woo, none relevant.

Well, I reckon it's time the old dons caught up! Perhaps I'll send them some cites.

[JihadJane]

Babies and toddlers have been saying "woo" for a long time. Now "debunkers" say it. Is that anything to be proud of?

[Darat]

Earliest citation here (http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/woo_woo/) is 1986

Thanks for that link - interesting site.

The earliest in-print cite I knew about until your link was in the 1994 novel The Sherwood Game by Esther Friesner.

[Piggy]

Babies and toddlers have been saying "woo" for a long time. Now "debunkers" say it. Is that anything to be proud of?

Babies also eat, sleep, breathe, and urinate. You?

And when you hear a baby use the word "woo" to mean... well, to mean anything... give me a call. I'll take pictures.

[Monketey Ghost]

My memory is of DeBunk starting it while cursing out AForce1, along the lines of "what a ******** koo koo, jump on the woo woo train to loserville". Of course, the phrase might have already existed at that point, but this was back when the forum was just starting up (I lurked from nearly the beginning, only joining in 2002).

I'm pretty sure the great forum purge destroyed those posts.

Same here. My first recollection is from DB/ AF1. At first I didn't like it, but, it's common parlance now! Woo woo!

[JihadJane]

Babies also eat, sleep, breathe, and urinate. You?

And when you hear a baby use the word "woo" to mean... well, to mean anything... give me a call. I'll take pictures.


When a baby says "woo" I think it's a baby saying "woo". I think the same thing when I see debunker saying "woo". I think of babies.

I participate in other discussion forums unfamiliar with the anti-wooism movement where the occasional anti-wooist turns up. Anti-wooist utterances of "woo" baby talk are met with amusement and bewilderment, accustomed, as the forum participants are, to using grown-up, adult language in their discussions.

Using baby language makes you sound like a baby.

Ga ga!

[slingblade]

When a baby says "woo" I think it's a baby saying "woo". I think the same thing when I see debunker saying "woo". I think of babies.

I participate in other discussion forums unfamiliar with the anti-wooism movement where the occasional anti-wooist turns up. Anti-wooist utterances of "woo" baby talk are met with amusement and bewilderment, accustomed, as the forum participants are, to using grown-up, adult language in their discussions.

Using baby language makes you sound like a baby.

Ga ga!

I know this is supposed to do any of a number of things, such as:

1. Make us pause thoughfully, examine ourselves and our motives, and conclude with some sheepishness that perhaps you are correct, and we ought to change at least some of our wayward ways.

2. Piss us off to the point of apoplexy.

3. Cause us to try to respond in kind; to find some way of making fun of you and the way you speak, just as you're doing in your post.

4. Provoke us to whip out our truth tables and venn diagrams, revealing, eruditiously, your fallacious and spurious argumentums for the turgid pustules of fecal matter they assuredly are.


But me, I'm just remembering the posts you've made that were intelligent, witty, fun, or even kind, and I can't help but wonder what the heck has possessed you to come into an innocuous thread that's simply asking about a term's origin and make the same kinds of arguments I can hear some middle schoolers outside my window making to each other right now.

I mean, honestly, I know you can and have done better snark than this.
Try harder.

[JihadJane]

... I can't help but wonder what the heck has possessed you to come into an innocuous thread ...

Because "woo" is an insult.

Have you forgotten? It's not innocuous at all.

[Big Les]

It's not just an insult...

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=A3mkUXQw__sC&lpg=PT1&dq=woo-woo%20spiritualist&pg=PT1#v=onepage&q=&f=false

[slingblade]

Because "woo" is an insult.

Have you forgotten? It's not innocuous at all.

Who was insulted by someone asking where the term came from?

[Monketey Ghost]

C'mon now sling, don't be disingenuous. The point was made that's it's a term designed to be insulting, and it is. "Jesus freaks" is a term that describes some strident Christians, but it's not nice.

I use "woo" on these forums, because it's shorthand for concepts and beliefs that I feel are worthless, but I would never say it vocally; both because I'd have to explain what was meant, and because I'm not fooling myself: it's derogatory.

[slingblade]

C'mon now sling, don't be disingenuous.

Uh...and you are?

[stilicho]

My first encounter with that sense of the word was through Randi, and I do a lot of reading, both about legitimate research and general flakey bogosity.

I like the association of the term with the acronym for the Wizard Of Oz. The cartoon wizard once says "Wizard of Oz--W-O-O--woo. I like that." Or something similar. I doubt that's where it gained currency but I remember the word from that long ago.

[Piggy]

When a baby says "woo" I think it's a baby saying "woo". I think the same thing when I see debunker saying "woo". I think of babies.

I participate in other discussion forums unfamiliar with the anti-wooism movement where the occasional anti-wooist turns up. Anti-wooist utterances of "woo" baby talk are met with amusement and bewilderment, accustomed, as the forum participants are, to using grown-up, adult language in their discussions.

Using baby language makes you sound like a baby.

Ga ga!

I say "ga ga", too, as it turns out.

That's also slang. Like "She was totall ga ga about him, but he didn't know she existed".

[Piggy]

Because "woo" is an insult.

Have you forgotten? It's not innocuous at all.

Is it the term you object to, or its application to something in particular?

Yes, it's certainly a dismissive term, no doubt about that.

But if someone looks at, say, dowsing, and says "That's just total woo", is it really any different than saying, "I find it to be not only unsubstantiated but in fact unsubstantiable, as it relies on counterfactual principles"? In the end, they mean the same thing.

It's a matter of register.

Everything has its place.

Kind of like profanity. I might say to one of my poker buddies, "Gee, man, that's ********** up!", but I'd never say it to my grandmother. Doesn't mean there's anything inherently wrong with the phrase "********** up".

[Monketey Ghost]

Uh...and you are?

No, I'm not insulted, but it's nice that you care enough to ask. :)

[Dr H]

I think it's likely that the term sprang up in multiple places. It's one of those terms that just makes sense. Like you're in a room in a house late at night and something strange happens. Everybody gets quiet and someone says "Woooooo!" in an eerie tone, meaning "Boy, that was spooky!"

The folk etemology I've most frequently heard is that it derived from the sound of the Theremin as heard in old horror movies. Something weird would happen in an otherwise ordinary situation, and the music track does an eerie, whistling ooooo...EEEEE...ooooo sound effect, courtesy of the Theramin.

Come the on-line discussion fora, and someone says something loony in dead seriousness, and we sarcastically cue the spooky background music, the same way some people cue the drum-sting (ba-da-BOOM) when a corney joke is made.

Except 'oooooEEEEEooooo' is too many characters to type in our fast-paced, twitter-based culture, hence the shortening to "woo woo," and eventually to "woo".

Don't know if this is the true explanation, but it's as good as any other I've heard.

[Kritikos]

I'm sure it was Curley.

Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!

(The correct spelling, though, is "Curly.")

[Azrael 5]

Scooby Doo invented it :D

Woooooo.

It's the noise a ghost makes apparently.

[Piggy]

The ghost-sound theory and Theremin score theory have both come up earlier.

I wonder what Roy Blount, Jr. would say about it? :D

Why is "wooooo" an eerie sound?

Very interesting.

[Horatius]

Babies and toddlers have been saying "woo" for a long time. Now "debunkers" say it. Is that anything to be proud of?



Considering that, in my experience, the typical baby and/or toddler is far more interested in learning about the world around them than is the typical woo, I'd say, "Yes, that is something to be proud of".

[TjW]

Scooby Doo invented it :D

Woooooo.

It's the noise a ghost makes apparently.

Daffy Duck was saying woo, woo, woo long before Scooby Doo.

Regardless of who invented or popularized it, I suspect it has come into widespread use because of all the possible connotations.

[Piggy]

Little Richard taught John Lennon how to sing "Wooooooooo!" way up high. :cool:

[Kritikos]

Daffy Duck was saying woo, woo, woo long before Scooby Doo.
But after Curly Howard, I believe.

[Lucian]

Little Richard taught John Lennon how to sing "Wooooooooo!" way up high. :cool:

Wrong Beatle--the Wooooer was Paul.

[Piggy]

Wrong Beatle--the Wooooer was Paul.

Oh, no doubt Paul out-woooooo'ed John, but still, it was John that got the lesson from Little Richard.

ETA: Maybe he needed the lesson more than Paul, who was already up there. I heard "Let Me Roll It" the other day, and man, there's a way high woo on that track!

[Lucian]

Oh, no doubt Paul out-woooooo'ed John, but still, it was John that got the lesson from Little Richard.

ETA: Maybe he needed the lesson more than Paul, who was already up there. I heard "Let Me Roll It" the other day, and man, there's a way high woo on that track!

Well, Little Richard must have changed his story, then, because I know he's said he taught Paul how to "woooo." He may well have said the same about John, though.

[Piggy]

Well, Little Richard must have changed his story, then, because I know he's said he taught Paul how to "woooo." He may well have said the same about John, though.

Ha! That's great. Yeah, I heard him say John. Classic!

[rjh01]

I found four on line dictionaries (broadly defined) with definitions.

http://www.skepdic.com/woowoo.html
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/woo_woo
http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/woo_woo/
http://skepticwiki.org/index.php/Woo-woo
The origin of the term is unclear.
One theory is that it comes from the "woo-ooo" sound made by a Theramin, the electronic instrument often used in old horror films to emphasize that something strange or mysterious was happening (such as the appearance of a ghost or alien). Another theory is that the term woo-woo comes from the theme song of Rod Serlings's The Twilight Zone. Yet another theory is that "woo woo" was early 20th century slang for insanity.

[JihadJane]

Who was insulted by someone asking where the term came from?

OK, let's have an innocuous conversation about where the terms "trailer trash", "bleeding-heart liberal" and "thlid" come from.

Is it the term you object to, or its application to something in particular?

Yes, it's certainly a dismissive term, no doubt about that.

But if someone looks at, say, dowsing, and says "That's just total woo", is it really any different than saying, "I find it to be not only unsubstantiated but in fact unsubstantiable, as it relies on counterfactual principles"? In the end, they mean the same thing.


They mean very different things. "Woo" is propagandistic (works on an emotional rather than intellectual level) and designed to be demeaning, patronizing and infantilizing and will evoke a far more defensive, emotion-based response than "I find it to be not only unsubstantiated but in fact unsubstantiable, as it relies on counterfactual principles" which is more likely to encourage objective discussion .

Deploying the word "woo" is unsophisticated heckling and little different from tossing rotten food a criminal in the local stocks or insulting whichever minority is designated as inferior in your area! Get real, Piggy!

[Ocelot]

Kind of like profanity. I might say to one of my poker buddies, "Gee, man, that's ********** up!", but I'd never say it to my grandmother. Doesn't mean there's anything inherently wrong with the phrase "********** up".

I'm offended by the word Grandmother. In future please use the word hatstand instead.

This message brought to you by the foundation for the pointless control of other people's language.

[JihadJane]

I'm offended by the word Grandmother. In future please use the word hatstand instead.

This message brought to you by the foundation for the pointless control of other people's language.


****.

Post edited as neither civil/polite, and attacks the arguer vs the argument.

[Ocelot]

Strangely that doesn't offend me at all. It is rather lame though.

[slingblade]

OK, let's have an innocuous conversation about where the terms "trailer trash", "bleeding-heart liberal" and "thlid" come from.

Okay, let's do. Asking where the terms come from isn't offensive. Discussing where they come from isn't offensive.

I have a pretty good idea already about "trailer trash," and "white trash," being as I'm both.

I'm not sure of the etymology of "bleeding-heart liberal," but I used to be one of those too, until I adopted political apathy. This means I no longer give a crap what anyone does with the country or the planet. They've never asked me what I think, after all, so I'm pretty sure they don't care what I think.

I've never seen or heard the term thlid before, and have no idea where it came from, what it means, or to whom it refers.


Deploying the word "woo" is unsophisticated heckling and little different from tossing rotten food a criminal in the local stocks or insulting whichever minority is designated as inferior in your area! Get real, Piggy!

We don't actually use stocks here as punishment anymore.
And in my area, the people here seem to regard everyone who isn't white as inferior. But then, that hasn't changed in my lifetime, so I'm not really surprised. Saddened, yes. Surprised, no.

As to being offended when someone calls you woo...well, stop believing that woowoo crap and no one will call you that anymore and no one will be offended. Simple, really.

[slingblade]

No, I'm not insulted, but it's nice that you care enough to ask. :)

Sorry...I was asking who you are.

[JihadJane]

We don't actually use stocks here as punishment anymore.


I didn't mean it literally. I meant that bandying the word "woo" is an equivalent pastime.

As to being offended when someone calls you woo...well, stop believing that woowoo crap and no one will call you that anymore and no one will be offended. Simple, really.

I'm not sure if you are addressing me personally here - if you are then you have misunderstood my posts which haven't been about me being offended. I have been talking about what the word "woo" tells us about people who use it.

I don't feel offended by it. I think it's funny that people calling themselves skeptics need to resort to baby language to express themselves. It makes me feel that my own brand of skepticism is somewhat superior ;).


ETA: "Thlid" is derived from Thalidomide and is use to demean people who may be physically awkward or clumsy in some way.

[Kritikos]

"Woo" is propagandistic (works on an emotional rather than intellectual level) and designed to be demeaning, patronizing and infantilizing and will evoke a far more defensive, emotion-based response than "I find it to be not only unsubstantiated but in fact unsubstantiable, as it relies on counterfactual principles" which is more likely to encourage objective discussion .

Deploying the word "woo" is unsophisticated heckling

The main points in this seem to me undeniable. I would not say that the word "woo" is in itself propagandistic, as that surely depends on whether it is used in propaganda; but it is certainly an emotion-laden term, and the chief emotion with which it is laden is contempt.

The remainder of the comment is quite another matter:

Deploying the word "woo" is . . . little different from tossing rotten food [at] a criminal in the local stocks or insulting whichever minority is designated as inferior in your area!

Now a notorious difficulty about terms like "different" and "similar" is their indeterminacy: if someone says that A is "similar to" or "different from" B without specifying or at least implying the respects in which similarity or difference is to be judged, it is impossible to be sure what the statement means, and so impossible to judge it true or false. In what respects might a comparison be intended here? Clearly they must be respects that elicit from us a certain emotional response of disapproval. Beyond that, I can only offer my guesses, though I think that they are plausible ones.

When you throw food at a criminal in the stocks, you are doing something both cruel (because it is an indignity, and potentially a bodily harm, to the victim) and mean (because the victim is prevented from defending himself). When one calls some body of thinking "woo," one is certainly deriding that body of thinking, and by implication those who adhere to it; but I have seen no evidence that it is an indignity to the victims that their beliefs should be disparaged in this way. And to assume that they are defenseless, it seems to me, is itself a very uncharitable assumption -- rather like the old taunt, "I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I don't believe in fighting an unarmed man." So no analogy here.

When you insult whatever minority is designated as inferior in your area, you are abusing people for something about them in which they have no choice and that has no connection at all with their merits or demerits as human beings. When you deride some body of thinking as "woo," you denigrate, by implication, those who accept such thinking for something about them in which they certainly do have a choice, namely their thinking, and that certainly does reflect on their merits as human beings, for it is bad thinking. So no analogy here either.

[JihadJane]

Do people choose to believe in fairies?

[Kritikos]

Do people choose to believe in fairies?

People have a choice about whether to consider the evidence critically or just to believe things that appeal to them emotionally.

Edited to add: If people had no choice in matters of thinking, there would be no such thing as critical thinking.

[JihadJane]

People have a choice about whether to consider the evidence critically or just to believe things that appeal to them emotionally.

Do they? Do you believe in free will? If so, why? Does it appeal to you emotionally?

Edited to add: If people had no choice in matters of thinking, there would be no such thing as critical thinking.

That sounds like an argument eating its own tail.

[slingblade]

I didn't mean it literally. I meant that bandying the word "woo" is an equivalent pastime.

I know. But I had to go there anyway. I'm bored. :)


I'm not sure if you are addressing me personally here - if you are then you have misunderstood my posts which haven't been about me being offended.

Nope, not you personally. I could better have used "one" instead of "you."

"...well, if people would stop believing that woowoo crap, then no one would call anyone a woo anymore and no one would be offended."


I have been talking about what the word "woo" tells us about people who use it.

Nah, you've been revealing a lot more about yourself, really, than you have anyone else.

I don't feel offended by it. I think it's funny that people calling themselves skeptics need to resort to baby language to express themselves. It makes me feel that my own brand of skepticism is somewhat superior ;).

Okie dokie, if feeling superior is what floats your boat, then by golly, you just get it any old way you can. :D

But does this mean that every time you see the term "woo" used here, you're going to interrupt the thread with:

"Oh my gosh, you guys, you use baby talk and you don't even care that it makes you look silly to me!"

I hope so. :D


ETA: "Thlid" is derived from Thalidomide and is use to demean people who may be physically awkward or clumsy in some way.

Oh! Thanks for that, it makes sense now.

[JihadJane]

But does this mean that every time you see the term "woo" used here, you're going to interrupt the thread with:

"Oh my gosh, you guys, you use baby talk and you don't even care that it makes you look silly to me!"

I hope so. :D



No, I think once a thread is sufficient.

[Kritikos]

Do they? Do you believe in free will? If so, why? Does it appeal to you emotionally?

That sounds like an argument eating its own tail.

Wow, that completely rebuts my case for the failure of the analogies that you offered in support of your position before. You win.

[JihadJane]

Wow, that completely rebuts my case for the failure of the analogies that you offered in support of your position before. You win.


Thanks for answering my question.

Rather than confusing yourself, just think of them both as mud slinging and easy targets and ponder the psychological gratification to be gained therefrom.

[Piggy]

All languages breed shortcuts and redundancies, and terms always arise to fill niches.

Take the word "dis", short for "disrespect" used as a verb. It's very handy. It caught on because there was no general word for what it has come to mean, especially since it glommed the meaning "dismiss".

In fact, "dis" is a general negative prefix (e.g. dystopia, dysfunctional, dischord, disbelief) so it sounds like what it means to English speakers.

So to "dis" as a vague verb meaning to reject or insult or ignore became part of the parlance.

"Woo", I think, has caught on for much the same reason. There is no common English noun that means "a belief that is entirely unsubstantiated and kinda flakey".

Naturally, this is not a flattering term.

But languages need unflattering terms.

It serves a purpose. You can say, "That is total woo" and someone understands what you mean. You could say "That is totally unsubstantiated and kinda flakey" but why? You have the word "woo".

I think it's a fine word. I've had some of my beliefs called "woo" and my response has simply been to explain why they're not.

[Monketey Ghost]

Sorry...I was asking who you are.

Oh! My name is magnifico2.0, but this is the second version of me, and other folks who've been here since the start recall me by many other names... one of them, because of what I happened to be eating at the time, was "Mag's Toasted Sandwich"... the early forums were a more wild version of what remains. I even had a thread where I gave out my password and had folks post as me, and that was a hoot.

I was born in Boston (to my everlasting shame), and moved to NY days later, never to see Falls River again. I hear it's a crap-hole. After a while, during which there was familial strife (a divorce, some other messy stuff), my mom settled down with a guy who's really nice, best step-dad I could have wanted... although I was out of the house by then.

So after high school, I decided to follow a band around the country for... eight years. I was a hippy, worthless to society, consuming "phatty veggie burritos" and inhaling balloons, smoking reefer and dropping tons of acid. That all ended rather suddenly one day, and I had to re-enter society with no skills to speak of, nowhere to live... it was quite a transition. This was 1995, when I was in my late twenties, and in the years since I've managed to get a good job, and have settled down with a wife and child. My name is Robert, and although I've seen you here and read your posts, it's nice to make your acquaintance all the same! :)

[Kritikos]

In fact, "dis" is a general negative prefix (e.g. dystopia, dysfunctional, dischord, disbelief) so it sounds like what it means to English speakers.

Incidental correction: "Dis-" and "dys-" are related in sound, but not in derivation or meaning -- except, of course, when people conflate them (see entry 5 in the first quotation below). I'll quote Merriam-Webster Online (http://www.merriam-webster.com/). Here's "dis-," the Latin one:

Main Entry: dis-
Function: prefix
Etymology: Middle English dis-, des-, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French des-, dis-, from Latin dis-, literally, apart; akin to Old English te- apart, Latin duo two — more at two

1 a : do the opposite of <disestablish> b : deprive of (a specified quality, rank, or object) <disfranchise> c : exclude or expel from <disbar>
2 : opposite or absence of <disunion> <disaffection>
3 : not <disagreeable>
4 : completely <disannul>
5 [by folk etymology] : dys- <disfunction>

(I am unacquainted with sense 4, by the way, and have never encountered the word "disannul," which sounds like the undoing of an annulment.) Here's "dys-," the Greek one:
Main Entry: dys-
Function: prefix
Etymology: Latin dys-, from Greek; akin to Old English tō-, te- apart, Sanskrit dus- bad, difficult

1 : abnormal <dysplasia>
2 : difficult <dysphagia> — compare eu-
3 : impaired <dysfunction>
4 : bad <dyslogistic> — compare eu-

[Piggy]

Incidental correction: "Dis-" and "dys-" are related in sound, but not in derivation or meaning -- except, of course, when people conflate them

Right, but that doesn't matter anymore in terms of their influence on the spread of the word "dis".

[slingblade]

Oh! My name is magnifico2.0, but this is the second version of me, and other folks who've been here since the start recall me by many other names... one of them, because of what I happened to be eating at the time, was "Mag's Toasted Sandwich"... the early forums were a more wild version of what remains. I even had a thread where I gave out my password and had folks post as me, and that was a hoot.

I was born in Boston (to my everlasting shame), and moved to NY days later, never to see Falls River again. I hear it's a crap-hole. After a while, during which there was familial strife (a divorce, some other messy stuff), my mom settled down with a guy who's really nice, best step-dad I could have wanted... although I was out of the house by then.

So after high school, I decided to follow a band around the country for... eight years. I was a hippy, worthless to society, consuming "phatty veggie burritos" and inhaling balloons, smoking reefer and dropping tons of acid. That all ended rather suddenly one day, and I had to re-enter society with no skills to speak of, nowhere to live... it was quite a transition. This was 1995, when I was in my late twenties, and in the years since I've managed to get a good job, and have settled down with a wife and child. My name is Robert, and although I've seen you here and read your posts, it's nice to make your acquaintance all the same! :)

Thank you. Please note that none of the above qualifies you to instruct me on my behavior.

[Ocelot]

Thank you. Please note that none of the above qualifies you to instruct me on my behavior.

Just tracked this little exchange through.

Interesting that when someone requests that you not be disingenuous your tack is the question their right to make such a request rather than deny that you were being disingenuous ;)

[Piggy]

Can we take it outside?

[Monketey Ghost]

* taking umbrage and needless offense* Thank you. Please note that none of the above qualifies you to instruct me on my behavior.

O, okay. I'll still do whatever I want without taking anyone's qualifications tests. Thought I was being gentle enough and friendly enough, but happy internetting. Get some salve for your butt.

[Monketey Ghost]

Can we take it outside?

*looks at floor sheepishly*

Yes, Piggy.

[Piggy]

*looks at floor sheepishly*

Yes, Piggy.

Thanks, bud. When y'all get it worked out, come on back and I'll buy everyone a beer.

[Kritikos]

"Mr. Rusper laid one hand on the bicycle handle, and the other gripped Mr. Polly's collar urgently. Whereupon Mr. Polly said 'Leggo!' and again, 'D'you hear? Leggo!' and then drove his elbow with considerable force into the region of Mr. Rusper's midriff. Whereupon Mr. Rusper, with a loud, impassioned cry resembling 'Woo kik' more than any other combination of letters, released the bicycle handle, seized Mr. Polly by the cap and hair, and bore his head and shoulders downwards. Thereat Mr. Polly, emitting such words as every one knows and nobody prints, butted his utmost into the concavity of Mr. Rusper," etc. --H. G. Wells, The History of Mr. Polly (1910), chapter VII, section 6.

Woo kik!

[kookbreaker]

On the point of what was on Usenet, Peter Bowditch saved a webpage from someone who used to post on Usenet quite often:
http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/comment/woowoocredo.htm

I contributed to that list. It is sad that Lou Minatti removed his website, but he was pretty much ignoring it in favor of his blog. Some classic stuff went away when he did that, but so did a lot of ancient stuff as well.

[Azrael 5]

Daffy Duck was saying woo, woo, woo long before Scooby Doo.

Regardless of who invented or popularized it, I suspect it has come into widespread use because of all the possible connotations.

I wasn't being serious.But thanks for reference!;)

[JihadJane]

Oh! My name is magnifico2.0, but this is the second version of me, and other folks who've been here since the start recall me by many other names... one of them, because of what I happened to be eating at the time, was "Mag's Toasted Sandwich"... the early forums were a more wild version of what remains. I even had a thread where I gave out my password and had folks post as me, and that was a hoot.

I was born in Boston (to my everlasting shame), and moved to NY days later, never to see Falls River again. I hear it's a crap-hole. After a while, during which there was familial strife (a divorce, some other messy stuff), my mom settled down with a guy who's really nice, best step-dad I could have wanted... although I was out of the house by then.

So after high school, I decided to follow a band around the country for... eight years. I was a hippy, worthless to society, consuming "phatty veggie burritos" and inhaling balloons, smoking reefer and dropping tons of acid. That all ended rather suddenly one day, and I had to re-enter society with no skills to speak of, nowhere to live... it was quite a transition. This was 1995, when I was in my late twenties, and in the years since I've managed to get a good job, and have settled down with a wife and child. My name is Robert, and although I've seen you here and read your posts, it's nice to make your acquaintance all the same! :)

Hello Robert.

[Dr H]

Do people choose to believe in fairies?

If they want to keep them alive, they do. :)

[Dr H]

Do you believe in free will? If so, why?

I find that I am compelled to believe in free will.

Life's a bitch. :(

[alleracsum]

Here’s my theory on the term “woo-woo” when referring to patently ridiculous supernatural “stuff.”

It starts with the wind. Every person in every culture has been spooked by the phenomenon of the wind whistling/groaning eerily through a drafty structure or sometimes right out in the open. That weird warbling faintly “human” sound is part of the collective consciousness and, as such, was a classic motif in literature: "Hush, dear. It's only the wind."

Then, in 1928, along comes Russian inventor Leon Theremin whose oscillating instrument perfectly captured that age-old eerie effect. Thanks to film composers like Miklos Rozsa (‘Spellbound”, Lost Weekend”) and the classic “The Day the Earth Stood Still” the theremin became literally synonymous with the scary, the mysterious, the other-worldly. The instrument was a staple of horror movies (“The Thing”), TV shows (“The Outer Limits”) and pop songs like “Spooky”.

By the 1960’s hack horror movie and TV producers had come to believe that a theremin could make anything spooky. They were wrong. By the 1970’s the theremin had become synonymous with the soundtrack from a cheesy movie or TV show about the supernatural.

I can’t prove it, but it was probably about this time that the theremin-inspired (half sung, half spoken) “woo-woo” became a handy way for comedians and raconteurs to quickly reference something supposedly scary or mysterious that was, in fact, just stupid.

[LTC8K6]

Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!

(The correct spelling, though, is "Curly.")

Nope, pay closer attention to the early ones. It was originally "Curley".

[JihadJane]

Interesting post, allerascum. I wonder how much the popularity of the term is a response our fear of the unknown. In that sense it can be seen as religious mantra used to neutralize fear of death - the skeptics' prayer.

This would also explain the evangelical zeal of the Randi cult. ;)

[Kritikos]

Nope, pay closer attention to the early ones. It was originally "Curley".
Oh, WISE GUY, eh? Why, I oughta . . .

I oughta be more careful!

I find that you are right about the early shorts; but before long (I don't know when), the spelling was changed to "Curly." Certainly, the one short that has his name in the title, Violent Is the Word for Curly, has it spelled that way.

[Piggy]

I wonder how much the popularity of the term is a response our fear of the unknown.

I would say probably none, since (a) it is a term of dismissal rather than fear, and (b) if a thing is truly unknown it is not "woo" but rather something to investigate -- it only becomes "woo" when we know what's going on but people choose to believe in irrational explanations anyway.

[dropzone]

Well, Little Richard must have changed his story, then, because I know he's said he taught Paul how to "woooo." Love Richard, but his historical claims bear considerable viewing.

[JihadJane]

I would say probably none, since (a) it is a term of dismissal rather than fear, and (b) if a thing is truly unknown it is not "woo" but rather something to investigate -- it only becomes "woo" when we know what's going on but people choose to believe in irrational explanations anyway.

Dismissal is very reassuring.

[Piggy]

Dismissal is very reassuring.

Hey, look, if you're going to post your own mental ramblings unsupported by any concrete evidence, then you're in no position to dismiss a contrary opinion which is based on experience.