According to the BBC news Magazine, the phrase “hey-ho” is set to make a comeback: it is included in the new edition of the Collins English Dictionary where it is defined as “an exclamation of weariness, disappointment, surprise, or happiness.”
Duncan Black, an editor for the dictionary, is quoted as saying “It’s the verbal equivalent of a shrug; you say ‘hey-ho’ or ‘that’s the way it goes’ or ‘c’est la vie.'” (He doesn’t mention the Spanish ‘es lo que hay’ – ‘that’s what there is’ – which is one of my personal favourites.)
I’d argue that all of those, along with ‘that’s the way the cookie crumbles’ and ‘ho hum’, all occur as expressions of resignation rather than indicating surprise or happiness.
I do agree, however, that there are ‘transliterated speech’ expressions that are becoming more popular as we try and make our cyber conversations more like spoken conversation. (C.f. my recent comments on adding txt-speke to actual speech.)
Two questions that arise here are: “why are we so keen to blur the boundaries between speech and writing?” and “will those brought up with computers ever be fluent in both?”
Incidentally, since “hey-ho” is one of those wonderful words that means the exact opposite of itself, I can only wonder whether its use in written texts needs to be accompanied by an emoticon to clarify which way it’s being used.
don't confuse the narrator 