oi
nounEtymology Variant of the interjection hoy with h-dropping in working class and Cockney speech; first recorded in the 1930s. Compare also unrelated Portuguese oi and Japanese おい (oi).
1
Commonwealth, Hong Kong, Ireland, UK, Impolite, Usually An exclamation of 'oi'.
- Such is the vocal power of water bailiffs and farmers that their ‘Ois!’ can be projected at small boys from anything up to five miles away and still induce heart-failure.1983, Bill Oddie, Gone Birding, London: Methuen, page 56:
2
Commonwealth, Hong Kong, Ireland, UK, Capitalized, Impolite, Sometimes, Usually A working-class punk rock subgenre of the 1970s, sometimes associated with racism.
- A way for Oi musicians to avoid responsibility for acts of violence that were preceded by listening to Oi is the claim that what people do with their music is out of the control of the musicians themselves.1997, David Schwarz, Listening subjects: music, psychoanalysis, culture:
- Oi! is characterized by cleaner guitars and slower tempos than most punk music, and many Oi! songs feature sing-along, "soccer chant" choruses.2012, Tiffini Travis, Perry Hardy, Skinheads: A Guide to an American Subculture: