I asked a friend of mine about this term hu you and received the following. Dear me, I am honestly confused and amused. To my humble mind, hu means “suddenly” and you means “slow moving.” Call me old-fashioned or whatever as if I cared. How can one term give birth to so many different meanings, both positive and negative? Its essence totally eludes me. I asked my daughter to see if she can do better. She looked at me, eyes wide opened. With total innocence, she shook her pretty head. Not sure if she understands much of them, though she laughed out loud over it. To be on the safe side, I just avoid using it when I am as clear as mud.

This reminds me of how out-of-touch I have been to contemporary Chinese language and culture after a quarter of a century’s absence. Stretching from this, I used to view someone who left Chinese 20 years before me as really old immigrants and I belong to the newest, the greatest and most educated Chinese immigrants of all in American history. Now as the wheel of history relentlessly turns, what say of me in front of new comers like the 26-year-old nephew and the girlfriend of my sister’s son? A generation has elapsed like a flash, soon being replaced by another new crop. Of course, I have ceased to be the newest immigrant of all.
Here’s the wonderful explanation of hu you.