hay is for horses

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From hay being homophonous with hey.

Pronunciation

  • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Phrase

hay is for horses

  1. (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.
    • 2003, Kathryn Reiss, Paint by Magic‎[1], Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 124:
      He called again: "Hey, Con?"
      "Hay is for horses, Homeboy," I shot back, and he laughed.
    • 2024, Mark Sarvas, Memento Park‎[2], Macmillan + ORM, →ISBN:
      "Hey, do you remember this space toy?"
      "Hey is for horses."
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