''Uff da!'' (sometimes also spelled ''oof-da'', ''oofda'', ''oofala'', ''oof-dah'', ''oofdah'', ''huffda'', ''uff-da'', ''uffda'', ''uff-dah'', ''ufda'', ', or ''uf daa'') is a Scandinavian exclamation or interjection used to express dismay, typically upon hearing bad news. Of Norwegian origin, the phrase was brought by

Scandinavian Americans Nordic and Scandinavian Americans are Americans of Scandinavian and/or Nordic ancestry, including Danish Americans (estimate: 1,453,897), Faroese Americans, Finnish Americans (estimate: 653,222), Greenlandic Americans, Icelandic Americans (esti ...

to the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, and

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

regions of the United States during the 19th century, where its meaning was broadened to express also surprise, astonishment, exhaustion, or relief.

Danish and Norwegian usage

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

and Norwegian language, (Danish and older Norwegian spelling) or (current Norwegian spelling) is a mild and polite

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

interjection used when something is unpleasant, uncomfortable, hurtful, annoying, sad, or irritating. The word is an

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', ''m ...

corresponding to English ''oof'', Dutch and German . Other similar interjections exist in Danish, e.g. or , and Norwegian, e.g. . may be used in Norwegian as a response when hearing something lamentable (but not too serious), and can be translated as "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that". is derived from

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

meaning 'then' in this context (similar to e.g. the response "ok, then"); both and English ''then'' (from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

, , ) are derived from

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...

* ('at that (time), then'). The

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

exclamations and are similar in meaning, with Swedish corresponding to Norwegian .

North American usage

''Uff da'' is a marker of Scandinavian heritage, predominantly heard in the

upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...

, which has a significant population with Scandinavian roots. It also is used throughout the Pacific Northwest, particularly in the

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

cities of Ballard and Stanwood. Its variety of meanings let it substitute for common

obscenities An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be use ...

. Within

Scandinavian-American Nordic and Scandinavian Americans are Americans of Scandinavian and/or Nordic ancestry, including Danish Americans (estimate: 1,453,897), Faroese Americans, Finnish Americans (estimate: 653,222), Greenlandic Americans, Icelandic Americans (esti ...

culture, ''uff da'' frequently translates to "I am overwhelmed", somewhat similar to the

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

phrase '' oy vey''. It has also been applied to places and events, such as: * Uff-Da Airport, located in Stoughton, Wisconsin. * Uffda Fest!, an annual event held in

Spring Grove, Minnesota Spring Grove is a city in Houston County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,330 at the 2010 census. It is part of the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office has been in operation at Spring ...

. * Uff Da Days, an annual event held in

Ostrander, Minnesota Ostrander ( ) is a city in Fillmore County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 254 at the 2010 census. History Ostrander was platted in 1890. A post office has been in operation at Ostrander since 1891. The city was named after Willia ...

. * Uffda Day Fall Festival, an annual event held in Rutland, North Dakota. * The Uff-Da Shoppe, located in Stanwood, Washington.

References

External links

*Kinnes, Tormod
"Uff Da: Norwegian-American expressivity"
Archived from ''lawzone.com/half-nor/uffda.htm''
"Rock Bend Folk Festival 2007 – Al Batt"
''YouTube''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Uff Da English-language slang Norwegian-American culture Norwegian words and phrases Norwegian migration to North America

Danish and Norwegian usage

North American usage

See also

References

Further reading

External links