hay is for horses
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From hay being homophonous with hey.
Phrase edit
- (sarcastic) 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.
- 1731 (date written), Simon Wagstaff [pseudonym; Jonathan Swift], “Dialogue I”, in A Complete Collection of Genteel and Ingenious Conversation, […], London: […] B[enjamin] Motte […], published 1738, →OCLC, page 107:
- Neverout. Hay, Madam, did you call me? / Miſs. Hay; why, Hay is for Horſes.