hay is for horses

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.80 in modern English

Syllables: hay is -for hors-es
IPA

Scrabble Score

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Meaning

phrase

Said as a retort to someone saying hey (any sense of the interjection), used to indicate that the speaker disapproves of the usage of the word "hey", perhaps due to a dislike of informal speech.

Example Sentences

"Neverout. Hay, Madam, did you call me? / Miſs. Hay; why, Hay is for Horſes."
"He called again: "Hey, Con?" "Hay is for horses, Homeboy," I shot back, and he laughed."
""Hey, do you remember this space toy?" "Hey is for horses.""

Etymology

From hay being homophonous with hey.

Inflected Forms

hey is for horses (alternative) hay is for horses and cows (alternative) hay is for horses, better for cows; pigs eat it too, but I don't know how (alternative)

Questions

How to pronounce hay is for horses

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