hey

To be in the period of one's greatest success, power, vigor, etc. I was making millions of dollars each year when I was in my heyday as a stock broker, but when the economy crashed, I lost nearly everything. Everyone thought she was in her heyday when she won her gold medal at the Olympics, but her athletic career was only just beginning. I had a lot of powerful enemies when I was in my heyday as a mob boss.

A phrase used to downplay or contradict a previous statement. I'm kind of busy right now, but hey, I always have time for you. What's up? I thought we were supposed to be there at 8, but hey, what do I know? Hey, my work gave me two free tickets to tonight's show—want to go with me? The seats aren't great, but hey, they're free!

cliché Used as a humorous or sarcastic retort to someone who has attempted to get one's attention by saying or shouting, "Hey!" A: "Hey, Dad!" B: "Hay is for horses, Billy. Say 'excuse me' if you want my attention." Every kid's had that one teacher in grade school who would correct "impolite" students with "hay is for horses." A: "Hey! Hey!" B: "Hay is for horses, Teddy. We don't shout at people to get their attention."

interjection A phrase said when doing or producing something very quickly or easily. Primarily heard in UK. All I need to do is reconfigure your IP address and... hey presto! Your connection is back to normal. See? We just cut the folded piece of paper in a few spots, unfold the whole thing and, hey presto—a snowflake! Hey presto, the printer's working again. All I had to do was change the ink.

A call for help. It originated among members of traveling circuses in the late 19th century. The carnival performer yelled out, "Hey, Rube!" as the unruly crowd advanced on him. Hey, Rube, come here—I can't get this trick to work. When the man on stage yelled, "Hey, Rube!" a burly bodyguard came running to protect him.

In, at, or during the period of one's greatest success, power, vigor, etc. In my heyday as a stock broker, I was making millions of dollars each year, but when the economy crashed, I lost nearly everything. Everyone thought she was in her heyday when she won her gold medal at the Olympics, but her athletic career was only just beginning. I had a lot of powerful enemies when I was in my heyday as a mob boss.

slang Why not? An aside used to emphasize one's nonchalance toward something. Often used as a euphemistic substitution for "what the hell." Sure, I'm not doing anything today, let's go to the beach—what the hey? What the hey, I'll go to the movies with you tonight.

A rallying cry for assistance when trouble breaks out. The phrase began in the days of touring carnivals and circuses. A carnival or circus performer or stagehand who found himself in an argument or altercation with patrons or other outsiders yelled, “hey, Rube,” the signal for his colleagues to run and help him out. An item in the Chicago Tribune in 1882 explained that “a canvasman watching a tent is just like a man watching his home. He'll fight in a minute if the outsider cuts the canvas [to sneak in], and if a crowd comes to quarrel—he will yell, ‘Hey, Rube!' That's the circus rallying cry, and look out for war when you hear it.” “Rube” might have been the name of an actual person summoned for assistance, although another possibility is that “rube” referred, as it still does, to country bumpkins; that is, to members of rural carnival and circus audiences who were likely to start trouble.