Looks like a variant on *hooey*, which the OED defines as: > Humbug, nonsense. It’s marked as slang that was originally from the U.S. Also so labelled is *phooey*, which is given to mean: > An expression of strong disagreement with or disapproval of something said. Also as sb., applied to the thing said: nonsense, ‘baloney’. Both terms’ first citations are from the 1920s.