# Ok, I'm dumb.  What the heck is "meh"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262>\
**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:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/21 "2006-09-27T13:08:42Z")

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It’s a verbal invitation to have your throat punched for being a smug, dismissive bastard.

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**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/22 "2006-09-27T14:08:07Z")

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Since this isn’t really a Cafe Society question, I’m moving this to General Questions.

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**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/23 "2006-09-27T14:30:44Z")

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[QUOTE=chrisk]  
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.  
[/QUOTE]  
Yep, “Hungry Hungry Homer,” Season 12, episode 15.

You can view the episode [here](http://www.dailymotion.com/visited/search/hungry%20homer/video/xemh9_simpsons-12x15). The “Meh” scene is in the first minute after the opening credits.

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**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/24 "2006-09-27T14:51:40Z")

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We’ve had [several](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=185647) [threads](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=253937&highlight=meh%2A+feh%2A) [on](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=379443&highlight=meh%2A) [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=306419&highlight=meh%2A), however I can’t seem to find the truly great thread delineating the difference between “eh” “meh” and “feh”- I printed it out ages ago for a coworker who just wasn’t getting the subtle differences.

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**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2006, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-im-dumb-what-the-heck-is-meh/374262/25 "2006-09-27T22:12:24Z")

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[QUOTE=Speaker for the Dead]  
It’s a verbal shrug.  
[/QUOTE]

More specifically it’s a _dismissive_ verbal shrug: “Whatever, I don’t care, drop it.” There’s also “enh”, which is pronounced more nasally and without the leading ‘m’. This is a more non-committal: “Whatever, I suppose so, it’s all the same to me.”

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