Date:  Wed, 8 Jan 1997 09:13:05 -0500
From:  Jesse T Sheidlower <jester[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]PANIX.COM>
Subject: Re: hoopty/hooptie

>
> Anybody heard the term _hoopty/ie_ for a old, barely-running car? What a
> lot of us used to call a "heap"?
> The term _hoopty_ is apparently a Chicago-area street term, attested to by
> my 6th grader. I'm curious as to whether it might be etymologically
> related to _heap_.

_Hoopty_ seems to have originated in California; I have several cites
from around 1970 there. It has appeared in a number of rap songs in
recent years, notably "My Hoopty" by "Sir Mix-a-Lot" in 1990. DARE
has an entry for "hoopy" in the same sense, identified as "esp. Texas"
with cites from the 1966-70 DARE survey onward.

Both terms are of unknown origin.

Jesse Sheidlower
Random House Reference
<jester[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]panix.com>