# Now here's a meme for ya -- WOOT! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 20, 2006, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-heres-a-meme-for-ya-woot/384871 "2006-12-20T02:57:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-heres-a-meme-for-ya-woot/384871/1 "2006-12-20T02:57:51Z")
WOOT! What is the sound that this word attempts to express? There is the extended hooting sound that is often made at celebratory events – e.g., your buddy crosses the stage to pick up his diploma. (As an editorial aside, let me say that I hate this lack of decorum.) There is also a sound my son and his friends makes that I am having a hard time describing. It’s kind of like “oo-ee oo-ee,” and then there’s a rest between the next pair of oo-ees, and and the ee is several intervals above the oo. Whatever this sound is, when did it start being written as WOOT? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-heres-a-meme-for-ya-woot/384871/2 "2006-12-20T03:14:39Z")
I’ve never seen that word before. ---
**Author:** ![SlickRoenick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SlickRoenick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickRoenick)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-heres-a-meme-for-ya-woot/384871/3 "2006-12-20T03:50:54Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] Whatever this sound is, when did it start being written as WOOT? [/QUOTE] > **[Urban Dictionary: woot](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=woot)** > > woot: Woot originated as a hacker term for root (or administrative) access to a computer. However, with the term as coincides with the gamer term,... ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-heres-a-meme-for-ya-woot/384871/4 "2006-12-20T04:00:31Z")
I’ve always heard it said like its spelled. Y’know…woot. Still, **Slick’s** link references the excited guinea pig noise. Now that I think about it, it _could_ have been ‘woot’. I always heard it as ‘ReeeEEET’ ---
**Author:** ![Sans\_Seraph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Sans\_Seraph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sans_Seraph)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-heres-a-meme-for-ya-woot/384871/5 "2006-12-20T04:06:47Z")
It’s not a natural word, but [celebratory gamer-speak.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woot) In real life, I’ve only heard it used in a dry or ironic sense. ---
**Author:** ![Lush\_Puppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Lush\_Puppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lush_Puppy)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-heres-a-meme-for-ya-woot/384871/6 "2006-12-20T04:19:03Z")
Gotta love ThinkGeek: [http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/gaming/38e7/](http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/gaming/38e7/) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-heres-a-meme-for-ya-woot/384871/7 "2006-12-20T13:08:37Z")
I see both the UrbanDictionary and ThinkGeek links conform to Colophon’s First Law of Bogus Acronymic Etymology. “We Owned the Other Team”? Yeah right… ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-heres-a-meme-for-ya-woot/384871/8 "2006-12-20T16:40:20Z")
The obligatory [Wikipedia Reference.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woot) I’ve always seen it used by techno-geeks as a general expression to mean: Hooray for me/us. ---
**Author:** ![Iggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Iggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggins)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-heres-a-meme-for-ya-woot/384871/9 "2006-12-20T16:41:44Z")
We should try to get “wHoot” to become the new meme. (see Family Guy…) ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-heres-a-meme-for-ya-woot/384871/10 "2006-12-20T16:42:08Z")
Ooop. Sorry Sans Seraph… didn’t realize you were linking to Wiki. w00t. ---
**Author:** ![jacob\_wrestling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/76d3ee/32.png) [@jacob\_wrestling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacob_wrestling)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-heres-a-meme-for-ya-woot/384871/11 "2006-12-20T16:49:20Z")
I don’t know anything about the etymology, but the “woot” or “oo-ee oo-ee” sound is usually accompanied by a “raise the roof” gesture timed in accordance with the spoken syllables. It’s a celebratory song-and-dance, although these days I’d say it’s mostly used in a joke-y manner. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-heres-a-meme-for-ya-woot/384871/12 "2006-12-20T18:16:21Z")
Well, I just did it because\* y’all\* were doing it! Poot.