lot of hooey, a
a lot of hooey
Total nonsense or foolishness. The origin of the word "hooey" is unknown. Primarily heard in US. His explanation was just a lot hooey—it didn't answer the question at all. Dave acts like he's smooth with the ladies, but it's a lot of a hooey.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
lot of hooey, a
Complete nonsense, total rubbish. The precise origin of the slangy noun hooey has been lost, but its meaning dates from the early 1900s. Elmer Rice had a version of it in his Pulitzer Prize–winning play, Street Scene (1928): “T’hell with all that hooey.” James M. Cain virtually defined it in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934): “It’s just a lot of hooey that this guy thought up so that he could fool the judge.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer