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Booing is the act of showing displeasure for someone or something (especially an entertainer) by loudly yelling "boo", or making other noises of disparagement such as animal noises.
Examples
Spectators enjoy booing poor performers almost as much as hearing good ones.
Booing is a regular, if undignified, feature of the British House of Commons.
History
Booing performers has a very long history, possibly even back to the days of ancient Greece, where audiences would boo and applaud good and bad performances. This practice, especially booing, has in recent times come under criticism. The opinion is often expressed that to boo a bad performance is unkind and demonstrates a lack of sophistication. However the counter argument goes that the combination of booing and applause help keep the quality of public performance high, by emotionally rewarding the good and punishing the bad.
This debate is especially true in the opera world where passionate applause and rowdy booing have been a long part of the tradition. In recent times in the United States, however, this practice of booing has come under attack. As opera attendance has become viewed as an indulgence of the rich, the act of booing has fallen out of favor. Opponents of this blame this lack of booing and what they view as a decline in the quality of modern American opera.
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