boy howdy

interjection

US dialect
: wow
used as an intensive and to express strong feeling (such as awe or surprise) usually about a statement that follows
To be honest … I really didn't expect to be all that impressed with an open-faced sandwich. Boy howdy, was I completely wrong.Taylor Six
We found some plants laden with the spiky fruit, which I collected with gusto. … But how to deal with those spines? Boy howdy are they nasty!Hank Shaw
Boy howdy, what a fun hour of television!Sean T. Collins
boy howdy, does the man deliver, hamming it up in a brilliant parody of hard-boiled gangster posturing.Jay Edidin

Examples of boy howdy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
And, boy howdy, look how far and wide our food staple has reached since then. Rasputin Todd, The Enquirer, 12 Oct. 2022 And, boy howdy, was there ever plenty of giving going on. Chris Coplan, The Arizona Republic, 18 Oct. 2021

Word History

Etymology

probably originally as a greeting

Note: Some early examples are either clearly friendly greetings (hence equivalent to "Howdy, boy!") or ambiguously either greeting or expression of surprise.

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of boy howdy was in 1911

Dictionary Entries Near boy howdy

Cite this Entry

“Boy howdy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boy%20howdy. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.

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