Fashionable Words: Hullabaloo

[Sometimes words die out of fashion. But sometimes those words are good words, words with a certain appeal that can't be denied forever. Those words should be brought back into fashion, used frequently and used often. These are those words.]

Word:
Hullabaloo

Definition:   noun
1. A clamorous noise or disturbance.

2. An uproar, a fuss.

Origin:
Depends how you want to define your origins.

The Oxford English Dictionary claims hallabaloo as a word solely originating in England, most likely around 1762--and they'll create a hullabaloo if you disagree with them. The OED claims it's an interjection of hallo and the Scottish baloo (meaning lullaby).

If a word for lullaby doesn't make much sense for a hullabaloo, well, Wiktionary sides with you. Instead they claim the term was potentially introduced to England around this same time period from India (hooray, imperialism!) from the word hullabol, which is an Indian English descriptive term for noisy public demonstrations.

Either way, the word derives from Mother England's love to invade the world, be it Scotland or India.

Most obscure Urbandictionary.com definitions for hullabaloo:
2. The first word of the phrase "hullabaloo caneck caneck" which is the start of the Texas A&M University War Hymn; represents the sound a cannon ball makes as it rolls down the barrel of the cannon while being loaded.

7. A word that has deep origins within the state of Rl. This word is used by a lot of famous swimmers, including Olympian Michael Phelps. The maximum usage of this word is once every six months. If you use this word more than once every six months, extreme screeching and sudden outbursts of high pitched noises have been reported.

Used in a sentence:
1. With all of the hullabaloo, it was hard to recognize that actual legislation was passed.

2. Ramon's announcement that he was pregnant caused quite a hullabaloo.

Word Awesomeness Scale (1 to 5):
Three. You need to be a part of the hullabaloo before you use hullabaloo.