12 November 2011

The etymology of "oops" (and "upsy-daisy")

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry made this word famous this past week, using it after making an epic blunder during a televised debate.  A Walk in the WoRds offers this linguistic history:
The first known appearance of oops in print comes from a 1922 Washington Post caption, apparently for a cartoon, but it’s unclear whether the exclamation carries the same meaning it does today... As an expression of apology or surprise at a blunder, oops begins to appear more often in the 1930s... Whoops, in the sense of oops, began appearing around the same time and can be found repeatedly in issues of Popular Science and Boys’ Life, where it was printed as early as 1929... It’s unclear whether Britney Spears’s 2000 single “Oops! ... I Did It Again” has increased the popularity of the expression in recent years.

The Oxford English Dictionary mentions that oops is “perhaps a natural exclamation,” but some of its first appearances suggest that, along with whoops, it might derive from the phrase up-a-daisy. Up-a-daisy has been used as an utterance of nonsensical encouragement for children since the 18th century, especially upon lifting them into the air or coaxing them back on their feet after a tumble. Its first known appearance in print comes in the letters of Jonathan Swift, as “up-a-dazy,” in 1711. Over the course of the 19th century, it evolved into upsidaisy. Many of the earliest appearances of oops! and whoops! show up in the context of accidental slips and falls, suggesting that they may be related to up-a-daisy...

Many other languages have similar expressions. An Italian found in error might say, “ops!” while a Frenchman who’s made a faux pas might say, “oups!” In Spanish, one can say opa, but just as common are huy and ¡ay! A Russian who’s made a goof might exclaim, “ой” (pronounced oj), while a German blunderer might blurt out, “hoppla!”
More at the link.  I remember hearing "upsy-daisy" as a child.  Never thought about it - then or since - until encountering this report.

1 comment:

  1. In England they say, "Woops, a daisy." I always thought this was said when a toddler fell over, and one said it to suggest that the child had tripped over a daisy.

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