oojah

English

Alternative forms

• hoojah
• ooja, oojar

Etymology

Unknown. Perhaps formed in English from a similar term; compare whosit, whaddayacallit. Perhaps coined as an exotic-sounding nonsense word. Perhaps from Persian or Urdu حجت (hujjat, “argument”), from Arabic حجة (ḥujja, “argument; pretext”). Attested from the early 20th century.

Noun

oojah (plural oojahs)

1. (slang) Something whose name is unknown or unimportant; a thingy; a whatsit.
   • 1919, P.H.M., “Our Translation Prize”, in The Educational Times‎^[1], page 470:

     Expect I shall get a raspberry from the old Oojah if I arrive (with the milk) blotto. Never mind, I have not had a backshee binge for years!

   • 1951, Terence Rattigan, “Who is Sylvia?”, in The collected plays of Terence Rattigan‎^[2], published 1953, page 211:

     DAPHNE. I say, old bean, where’s the oojah?
     MARK. The oojah?
     DAPHNE: The om-tiddly-om-pom.

   • 1951, Maura Laverty, “Liffey Lane”, in Cathy Leeney, Deirdre McFeely, editors, The Plays of Maura Laverty, published 2023, page 90:

     CUT-THE-RASHER: Aye, indeed – Mary Doyle’s missing her bit of comfort.
     MRS DOYLE: G’long you dirty-minded ould hoojah. That’s one thing anyway: we won’t have to be putting up with you once we leave the lane.

   • 1971, Brian Aldiss, A Soldier Erect, page 94:

     I’ve seen blokes in hot countries go clean round the oojar because of the perverted practices of native women.

Derived terms

• oojah capivvy
• oojah-cum-spiff