heigh-ho

Noun

heigh-ho (plural heigh-hos)

1. Colaptes auratus, northern flicker.

Verb

heigh-ho (third-person singular simple present heigh-hos, present participle heigh-hoing, simple past and past participle heigh-hoed)

1. (intransitive) To chant "heigh-ho".
   • Big bamboo poles are used for carrying heavy loads in China. In the cities one hears the familiar antiphonal “heigh-ho'ing”, indicating that a heavy load is being moved somewhere. The heavier the load, the louder and more agonized the chant.1927, Porterfield, William M., Bamboo and its uses in China, Chinese Government Bureau of Economic Information, Booklet Series 2, p.40. Cited in David Farrelly, The Book of Bamboo, p.25; Sierra Club...

Interjection

1. Used as a cadence-count used for synchronized walking, marching, pulling, lifting, etc.
   • Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to work we go, ...1937, Larry Morey (lyricist), Heigh-Ho, song in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)
   • Heigh-ho the dairy-o, the farmer in the dell...