Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (also boo) whingeing, complaining.

1895		‘’Arry on the Elections’ in Punch 27 July 39/1: Village Councils and Vetoes won’t work it, for all Billy ’Arcourt’s boohoo!
1914		E. Pugh Cockney At Home 64: She’d been doin’ a huff of a boo.
1925		O.O. McIntyre New York Day by Day 1 Oct. [synd. col.] ‘It ain’t right,’ he broke down in a grand boo-hoo.
2001		(con. 1964–8) J. Ellroy Cold Six Thousand 375: Jimmy fumed. Jimmy fugued. Jimmy ran nonstop boo-hoo. His legal woes. Sam G. in stir. His ripe hemorrhoids.
2023		(con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 86: She put out zero boo-hoo per her shit-kicked brother.

2. a tear; weeping.

1906		S. Ford Shorty McCabe 177: She just slumped into her corner and switched on the boo-hoos.
1928		K. Henderson ‘Have You Ever Felt That Way?’ 🎵 You’re feelin’ forlorn, you’ve got the boo-hoos.
1982		W.D. Myers Won’t Know Till I Get There 75: [S]he’s crying. Not a real loud boo-hoo, just a little sniffling, but she’s going at it pretty good.
2002		J. Cameron Hell on Hoe Street 215: She started back on the big boo-hoos.
2010		J. Ellroy Hilliker Curse 7: The Main Blonde pitched some boo-hoo.
2010		K. Richards Life 249: His effect on women was phenomenal. It wasn’t boo-hoo, it was heartstrings [...] My feet were soaking from walking through tears.
2023		(con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 14: Lawford pitched boo-hoo.

3. in attrib. use of sense 2.

1913		Day Book (Chicago) 4 Nov. 27/2: ‘The boo-hoo’ ballad will plunge you into the most exquisite melancholy and you’ll ruin your new raincoat in an ecstasy of tears.
2021		J. Ellroy Widespread Panic 87: I bebopped to a boo-hoo beat. [...] jilted Johnny left in the lurch.

4. a complainer, a whinger.

1914

Truth (Melbourne) 17 Jan. 4/8: [headline] Concerning Those Raucous-Voiced Boo-hoos Who Seek to Stifle Political Spruikers.