pooh-pooh
verb

- to express an opinion that an idea or suggestion is silly or worthless

(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

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WORD ORIGIN

The word pooh goes back centuries and was an expression of disgust or contempt even in the time of Shakespeare. Then in the 17th century, people began doubling it as "pooh-pooh", presumably to make their feelings more apparent. (Morris Dictionary Of Word and Phrase Origins)

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, pooh was originally a "vocal gesture" expressing the action of puffing something away. It was first recorded in Hamlet Act I, Scene III, where Polonius addresses Ophelia with:

"Affection! pooh! you speak like a green girl,
Unsifted in such perilous circumstance.
Do you believe his tenders, as you call them?"

However, the "vocal gesture" is probably ancient. Among the many 19th century theories of the origin of language was the pooh-pooh theory (1860), which claimed that language grew from natural expressions of surprise, joy, pain, or grief.

A modern version of pooh-pooh is "dis", as in disrespect (He dissed me. He dissed my girlfriend). It has its origins in the African American street lingo.

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SYNONYMS

belittle, brush aside, discount, dismiss, disregard, make light of, play down, rebuff, reject, repudiate, scoff at, sneer at, treat with contempt, wave aside

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ANTONYMS

commend, compliment, esteem, flatter, praise, respect

(Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)

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PRACTICE OWAD TODAY
Say something like:

"We worked on the campaign for over a month, only to have the marketing manager POOH-POOH our proposal five minutes into the presentation."