Etymology

alley oop

Today it means: Encouraging or calling attention to a physical performance, especially one involving an upwards lift or leap. Full definition →

French allez-hop!
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The story

  1. French · borrowed fromallez-hop!
  2. English todayalley oop

Borrowed from French allez-hop!, the cry of a circus acrobat about to leap. From allez (“go! let's go!”), 2nd-person plural or formal indicative form of aller, and hop, onomatopoeic.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.