Lexicon Valley from Booksmart Studios
Lexicon Valley from Booksmart Studios
Yo!
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Yo!

The interjection made famous by Rocky Balboa may be older than you think.
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Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers in Rocky, released in 1977.

The word “yo” — as in “Yo Adrian, I did it!” — is thought to have originated sometime in the 1940s or so among Italians in Philadelphia. But there’s a case to be made that it traces back to Old English. John explains.

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Lexicon Valley from Booksmart Studios
Lexicon Valley from Booksmart Studios
A podcast about language, with host John McWhorter.