I've heard it explained that "hey" used to be more of an urgent way to get someone's attention, rather than a casual "hello" like it is now, so it sounded rude to some older folks.
This actually happened to me at a supermarket in Chilliwack. The description is spot on. Grumpy old dude, 19 year old me.
Hey! Listen!
Image Transcription: Twitter Post
The Pumpkin Dipshit, @ParSpec
Remembering how common it was in like the early nineties for a kid to say "hey" and some old timer to respond "hay is for horses!" as part of some campaign to label "hey" as rude and force kids not to say it. They're gone now and we still say hey. You lost, old timers.
This reminds me of that old joke "what do gay horses eat? Hay hay haaaayyyyyy" that was told to us by a teacher in I dunno, middle school probably. Gotta love the 90s
Y'all was different back then too. Now it's the most neutral greeting and that's really odd for my 90s brain.
I will die on the hill that "y'all" is a more concise way to convey the same information than any of the alternatives.
I haven't gotten a chance to use it yet, but one day the construction "all y'all'd've" will be relevant in my life.
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