Why Do We Say “P.U.” When Something Stinks?
When something really stinks, you might hold your nose, waft your other hand, and shout “pee-yoo” in disgust. Or is that sound spelled “pugh,” “pew,” or “P.U.”? Truth be told, there’s no one clear answer for this olfactory exclamation, but we can dig for more info. According to the Oxford
English Dictionary, people began using this sound to express a sense of disgust by 1604. “Pue” was perhaps the earliest spelling, soon written as “pew,” “peuh,” and “peugh.” “P.U.” is another perfectly acceptable spelling, though it’s not an acronym. The letters convey the “pee-yoo” sounds in the most straightforward way...
