whey
noun
- liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /hweɪ/ / /weɪ/
intj
Etymology: Onomatopoeic, variation on wahey.
- A shout for attention
“He swayed over to the door, peered out, shouted "whey!" and came back, looking severe.”
“somebody who was more or less to their senses, shouted... ' Whey! ... Had on lads!' and everybody was trying to get wocken up and sorted out.”
- A shout of enthusiasm or delight
“... apart from Max, who rode his pallet like a surfboard with a huge grin plastered across his face. “Wheyyyyyyy!” Max yelled with delight.”
“Several drunken men shouted from the corner. “Wheyyyy, showtime! Go on, go on!””
- Shouted when someone drops a glass or other crockery, especially in a pub.
“12. Smashing a glass and the whole bar choruses "WHEYYYY".”
“If they don't shout "wheyyy" when you smash a glass, did it even smash?”
noun
Etymology: From Middle English whey, wheye, whei, from Old English hwǣġ, hwæiġ, hwæġ, hweġ (“whey”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwaij (“whey”) (cognate with Saterland Frisian Waai, Woaie, West Frisian waai, Dutch wei, Low German Wei, German Low German Wei), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- (“to pile up, build”) (compare Old Church Slavonic чинъ (činŭ, “order”), Ancient Greek ποιέω (poiéō, “to pile up, make”), Sanskrit कय (káya, “every one”)).
- The liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained in the process of making cheese.
“Little Miss Muffet, She sat on a tuffet, Eating of curds and whey; There came a little spider, Who sat down beside her, And frighted Miss Muffet away.”
“{...} if I wished any blessing in the world, it was to find him a worthy object of pride; and I’m bitterly disappointed with the whey-faced, whining wretch!”