What is a hooley? Where does the word come from?
Like everything about the word hooley, the spelling is disputed.
Is it Hoolie or hooley? Or even Huly? This was how it first appeared in Bartlett's Dictionary of American English in 1877.Party time: in Ireland? Or Scotland?
A hoolie is now a generic term for a raucous party. The word is most commonly used in Ireland, and many assume it originated there. But modern usage traces more clearly to Orkney Scots.
In Scots, hooley means a strong wind or gale. This sense remains in the Irish idiom blowing up a hooley.
