Meh

"How was my weekend? Meh. The mehness of it is indescribable. Just one big, fat meh. If you are an old-media kind of reader, meh won't mean a whole lot to you. The word has appeared in the national press three times in the past year. If you gain new vocabulary from conversation, it is probably unfamiliar. If you can't be torn from the web, however, you will almost certainly know it, and its meaning. Meh means rubbish. It means boring. It means not worth the effort, who cares, so-so, whatever. It is the all-purpose dismissive shrug of the blogger and messageboarder. And it is ubiquitous. On the 'I Love Music' messageboard, for example, 4 010 separate discussion threads feature the use of meh." (From: "Meh – the word that's sweeping the internet" by Michael Hann, The Guardian, March 5th, 2007 at http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2026533,00.html.)

While meh is usually associated with the TV series The Simpsons, says Hann, some have suggested it has its origins in Yiddish, pointing to a 1936 song in which it is said to have been used.

Two of more than 170 entries for meh on the Urban Dictionary site (www.urbandictionary.com) I looked at some time ago told me this:

·         Meh is an interjection used to imply indifference towards a subject; a verbal shrug. This particular interjection has somehow become quite popular among teens. The reason for this popularity is a mystery. Other popular interjections are bleh, dah, and mih. Usually pronounced shortly, without eye contact or body movement.

      "You wanna go to the mall?"

      "Meh, I have nothing to do for the rest of the day ..." etc.

·         Meh is used to describe any and every word possible, including yes; no; maybe; kind of; never; always; ok; alright; no thank you; yes please; whatever; shut up; i dont want to really; no honestly, i dont care – as in:

 

"you wanna come round mine?"

"meh"

"whats that mean"

[person mentions all of the definitions above]

"so which one? yes or no?"

"meh"

"that a yes?"

"meh"

"a no??"

"meh"

"a maybe???"

"meh"

"look please tell me"

"meh" …

[edited – and censored!].

 

Has meh caught on in South Africa? I read it in a DVD review today (an Afrikaans one, at that!), but can’t recall ever having seen or heard it elsewhere locally before that.