Yahoos

Cultural  

1. The crude, dirty “brutes” of the land of the Houyhnhnms in Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift. The Yahoos are irrational people and represent the worst side of humanity. By contrast, the wise and gentle Houyhnhnms, their masters, are rational horses and represent humanity at its best.

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A “yahoo” is an uncouth or uncivilized person.

Example Sentences

You’re doing all the right stuff by yourself, and you’re among professionals, medical professionals, not Yahoos, and you can still have someone else make a mistake and your life is gone.

From Los Angeles Times

Say what you will about Victorian England’s prime ministers and business leaders, at least they weren’t Yahoos.

From Washington Post

Because the toddler was ultimately not separated from her mother, Ms. Parker wrote, “You could practically hear the ‘Yahoos!’ from the Oval Office to the Fox News headquarters.”

From Washington Post

You could practically hear the “Yahoos!” from the Oval Office to the Fox News headquarters.

From Washington Post

Their land is plagued by feral animals known as the Yahoos — which, Gulliver is shocked to learn, have human physical form beneath their fur.

From Nature