Ha!

I first got this answer in a text from one of my kids and thought it was only a millennial thing.  They make up text stuff as do the Gen-X, Y, Z and the rest of the alphabet kids.  I didn’t pay attention as they text me all kinds of stuff.  I excuse kids because, well… kids (and also millennials).

I have been getting this recently from people old enough to act like grown-ups (see who below) but don’t, and I realized it was being used in a dismissive context.

My searches found it to be short for HAHAHA (or HAHA depending on the source), Hello Again, hectares and other various dribble, but my intuition was confirmed when I found this;

This is how the (inarguable! non-negotiable!) list of the Worst Single Word-And/Or-Letter-Expressions To Type Online starts out: 1) K, 2) Nah, 3) :p, 4) Uh, 5) lol, and 6) Ha/Heh.

Ha is interchangeable between the sexes, but both sexes know exactly what these words really mean without the explanation.  K (while meaning OK)was kind of an F-you and the others are sort of meh.

Why is HA! an insult?

The dreaded Reddit gave up this gem: When I have experienced a ‘ha’ it’s usually a lack of interest in having a conversation with me.

So, it’s a round about way of saying piss off, I am done with you and/or this conversation.

MEN VS. WOMEN

It is pretty evident that females are more verbal than men.

When boys hit puberty, their responses to most things generally get boiled down to um, ugh, hrrmmph or other monosyllabic answers.  Some get more verbal as they finish suffering through those years and move out from their parents.  Most however can revert back to this form of communication as adults if distracted by sports, TV, video games or a laundry list of available options.  I could take a ha easier from a boy than a girl.  They just don’t talk that much.  The millennial boys don’t use it as much.

Females tend to be more verbal.  They talk their way to the answers instead of men, who think about the subject, tossing out the bad options and then giving an actual/meaningful answer.  So, if you get a one word answer like Ha from any girl of any age, it’s not good for you nor was it meant to be polite.

I pushed my eldest to see if she’d ever used it to blow somebody off and she said maybe, followed by probably.  In her dictionary, that means yes.  I had used the word dismissive in the question so there was no misunderstanding.  She is hip to culture (millennial) so knew it was true.

When I get ha from adults over 50, I pretty much get their drift. I just close the text and move on until they want to grow up or actually have an adult conversation. I learned this from a girl I used to ride bikes with. She is supposed to be an adult, but acted like a child.   It is the reason behind this post.  The following is for her.

As I suspected, ha is a single word equating to “I’ll let you go now” the on phone or best wishes.  I also means I don’t want to text anymore and this lets you think something witty was said while giving you the finger.

People are assholes sometimes.

Ha!