but hey

interjection

Used to show that the thing just referred to is not ideal or does not support the argument, but that the situation cannot be improved upon, or the speaker is unwilling to try.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

interjection
  1. Used to show that the thing just referred to is not ideal or does not support the argument, but that the situation cannot be improved upon, or the speaker is unwilling to try.

    I am pretty sure it's another computer glitch, but hey, it's not my fault and it's perfectly legal.

    2004, R. Broadhead, Dear Valued Customer, You Are A Loser, Andrews McMeel Publishing, page 89
    2 more examples

    Streaming a movie prevents any but the most dedicated and well-equipped hacker from making a digital copy (pointing a camera at the screen still works, but hey).

    2003, S. Gulie, Quicktime for the Web, Morgan Kaufmann, page 136

    By that time they had navigated about 120 miles of the Green River, almost twice their planned run for the day—but hey, time flies when you're having fun.

    2007, Jim Burnett, Hey Ranger 2: More True Tales of Humor and Misadventure from the Great Outdoors, page 101
Cite this entry
APA

but hey. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/but%20hey

MLA

“but hey.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/but%20hey. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “but hey,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/but%20hey.

Source: but hey on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.