# Ok, I'm dumb. What the heck is "meh"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 26, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262 "2006-09-26T20:31:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/1 "2006-09-26T20:31:33Z")
I tried searching for the meaning of “meh”, but search said the word was too short. The search for “acronym” didn’t turn up anything (in a reasonable number of threads). Yes, I’m relatively new to Cafe Society, and obviously not in the know: so can someone clue me in to what “meh” means? Thanks, J. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/2 "2006-09-26T20:33:44Z")
Just a non-commital, somewhat skeptical, disinterested interjection – like “eh,” but a little more distant. At least, that’s how I read it. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/3 "2006-09-26T20:34:41Z")
It’s a verbal shrug. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/4 "2006-09-26T20:36:31Z")
**Rodgers01** got the meaning right. But if you’re curious about the origin, I’m pretty sure it came from The Simpsons, like so much of American culture. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/5 "2006-09-26T20:36:33Z")
A synonym for “what-evah”, or perhaps “I tried to care, but was unable to”. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/6 "2006-09-26T20:39:14Z")
Lisa Simpson: We’re the MTV Generation. We feel neither highs nor lows Marge? Simpsons: What’s that like? Lisa Simpson: Meh That certainly helped popularize it. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/7 "2006-09-26T20:45:40Z")
I’m pretty sure I just saw an episode (woulda been either season 13 or 14) where Lisa says “meh” and someone else (Bart?) asks what that is and she says “meh. m-e-h.” and explains what she means. I’ll try to find it. Very hard to search “Lisa Simpson” and “meh” and come up with transcripts. Apparently that’s her “D’oh!” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/8 "2006-09-26T20:55:37Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] I’m pretty sure I just saw an episode (woulda been either season 13 or 14) where Lisa says “meh” and someone else (Bart?) asks what that is and she says “meh. m-e-h.” and explains what she means. I’ll try to find it. Very hard to search “Lisa Simpson” and “meh” and come up with transcripts. Apparently that’s her “D’oh!” 🙂 [/QUOTE] I think I remember a recent (to me, that means within the last 4 or 5 years) episode where Marge was trying to get the kids to play outside, and Lisa responds with “Meh.” When Marge pushes harder, Lisa pushes back, “I _said_ Meh!” ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/9 "2006-09-26T20:57:02Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] I’m pretty sure I just saw an episode (woulda been either season 13 or 14) where Lisa says “meh” and someone else (Bart?) asks what that is and she says “meh. m-e-h.” and explains what she means. I’ll try to find it. Very hard to search “Lisa Simpson” and “meh” and come up with transcripts. Apparently that’s her “D’oh!” 🙂 [/QUOTE] Maybe ‘hungry hungry homer’: Homer: Kids, how would you like to go to … Blockoland! Bart + Lisa: Meh. Homer: But the TV gave me the impression that – Bart: We said, “Meh!” Lisa: M-e-h, meh. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/10 "2006-09-26T21:04:46Z")
Yeah that’s it. Thanks guys. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/11 "2006-09-26T21:33:44Z")
I’ve been using the expression colloquially for years. Invariably, I use it if something is just so-so or below my expectations. My usage varies in that there is no “M” and it is very nasal with the stress on the first syllable and drawn out for two or three beats. For example: “How’s the Pizza?” “Nyennnhh, it’s okay.” ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/12 "2006-09-26T21:56:33Z")
It’s funny, I used to think anyone who used the phrase was a mouth-breathing moron. Seriously, it looks as stupid as when people use “ur” for “you’re” or “r/are” or “u/you” or “2/to” and just like those, prompted an automatic reckoning of the person who used it’s IQ. Down, way down. I still think it looks stupid, and I do have a tendancy to disregard the opinions of anyone who uses it as a means of rating something (such as a movie opinion), but after learning a couple of years ago that it’s a Lisa Simpson expression (I missed those episodes), my hatred of it has softened considerably. Lisa rules, so anything she does can’t be all bad. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/13 "2006-09-26T22:01:42Z")
It’s an expression of utter ennui. One says “meh” when one can’t find the energy to care enough to say anything more coherent. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/14 "2006-09-26T22:04:42Z")
[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Meh](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Meh) ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/15 "2006-09-26T22:24:06Z")
[QUOTE=Speaker for the Dead] It’s a verbal shrug. [/QUOTE] With just a hint of curled lip; it’s a neutral shrug with an ever-so-slight lean towards the negative. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/16 "2006-09-26T23:00:41Z")
Ain’t it a Yiddishism? related to “feh”? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/17 "2006-09-26T23:24:26Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] Ain’t it a Yiddishism? related to “feh”? [/QUOTE] I thought so too. I found this [interesting article](http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003238.html) on the origins of “meh,” and towards the end they mention the possibilities of a Yiddish etymology. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/18 "2006-09-26T23:30:11Z")
I’ve always envisioned it as sort of see-sawing one’s hand back and forth to show indifference. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/19 "2006-09-26T23:42:31Z")
[QUOTE=Equipoise] Lisa rules, so anything she does can’t be all bad. [/QUOTE] Except “Jazz Man”. _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/20 "2006-09-27T12:26:55Z")
[QUOTE=Sefton] **Rodgers01** got the meaning right. But if you’re curious about the origin, I’m pretty sure it came from The Simpsons, like so much of American culture. [/QUOTE] It’s not from _The Simpsons_. It may have been made more popular by _The Simpsons_, but it certainly didn’t originate there. > [@pulykamell](#): > > I thought so too. I found this interesting article on the origins of “meh,” and towards the end they mention the possibilities of a Yiddish etymology. I don’t know if “etymology” is really appropriate for something that’s more of a verbal gesture than a word. You can tell because it’s not actually phonetically possible as an English word, since it ends in an /E/ (as it “let”) sound in an open syllable. We have lots of articulatory gestures that aren’t possible words - “hmm”, “uh-oh”, “tsk tsk” and so forth. None of those could actually be English words, given English phonology. It seems a lot more likely to me that it’s related to that noncommital “mmm” and just the general tendency of people to grunt. What better way to indicate your apathy towards something than being too lazy to even use words in response? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262.md?page=2)