I have seen a lot of posts on these boards with the exclamation “Meh” lately. Its meaning seems to be a combination of mild disgust and dismissal. It appears to be similar to “feh” which is much more widely used. I don’t remember seeing this word much before this year, nor do I recall seeing it outside of the SDMB.
What’s the straight dope on “Meh”? Is its place and time of origin known? Did it start on these boards or did it come from outside? Do you see it outside of the SDMB or mostly here?
I’ve seen/heard “Meh” used for years, since back in my university days in Ontario, Canada.
I believe I’ve heard it on The Simpsons before I heard it hear.
I use it all the time IRL.
I heard it from my younger brother before hearing it on here, then I heard it on the Simpsons, then I noticed it around here. It’s been around for a while.
It definitely serves as one of the most popular choices in the adorable lexicon of Strong Bad’s dastardly sidekick, The Cheat.
I first heard it used a couple of years ago, among my stepson (now 18) and his friends. None of them, to my knowledge, post (or lurk) here.
I’ve been using “meh” for quite sometime-- long before I ever discovered the SDMB, that’s for sure.
Where did I first hear it? Um, I can’t recall. I think it was in a book I read. Also, I’ve never heard anyone use “feh” before. Like, EVER. A part of me wants to say that you’re making it up.
I heard/used “meh” well before I discovered this place – and while I’m familiar with “feh,” I never would have said that it was more widely used. Could be a regional thing.
You understand that you’re a teenager, right? And that there’s probably, like, a lot of stuff you’ve never heard/seen/done?
Newp. It’s been used for a good bit now. It’s got its own language of origin and everything.
(I se meh more’n occasionally.)
I’ve heard it a lot online and IRL (usually from the kind of people who spend a lot of time online like myself 
), without any real connotation of disgust. It seems to me to be sort of a Westernized “mu” with lots of apathy injected into it; not so much “your question/statement/thought is too dumb to consider” as “frankly I can’t be bothered to care”.
The folks I used to hang out with on IRC (not #straightdope) used “feh” a whole lot, often more pejoratively than “meh”. I’ve never heard anyone actually vocalize it; it sounds awkward.
Pfui.
I was unaware of it until I saw it here.
I was certainly well aware of it before I was even aware that there was an SDMB, but that I don’t recall it being in wide use before The Simpsons popularised it.
That show has a lot to answer for…
I see ‘feh’ as the equivalent of the facial/verbal reaction that occurs when, say, you tread in dog shit, but don’t actually realise what it is until you’ve taken off your shoe and inhaled a deep lungful of the aroma. ‘Feh’ is an expression of explicit disgust or contempt (at least it is in my vocabulary).
‘Meh’ on the other hand, is an expression of apathy or non-commitment; the verbal equivalent of a shrug (indeed, it’s a sound that is often vocalised along with a physical shrug).
I’m with Clockwork and Candy. I’ve NEVER heard anyone say “feh”. Hell, right now, off the top of my head and outside of this thread, I’ve never even seen “feh”.
I’ve never known anyone to use ‘feh’. ‘Meh’, on the other hand, has been used by at least one of my friends both online and off for a few years now. I picked it up from him, before I found this board.
“Feh” is good Yiddish. “Meh” I dunno what is.
Some of my friends have been using “meh” for quite a while now, at least four years. They only use it online though; Ive never heard it actually spoken, except by Cartman on South Park. He draws it out more, and uses it more to whine than to indicate indifference.
I associate “meh” with here. Ordinarily, I just say “eh” and shrug my shoulders IRL.
I’m a “meh”-er too. Mostly written, but I’ve spoken it aloud. I’ve seen it for years, but since I started reading the Dope, it’s become sort of an word earworm, and I find myself using it more often.