D'oh!
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"D'oh!" () is the most famous
catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
used by the
fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...
Homer Simpson, from the television series ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
,'' an
animated sitcom An animated sitcom is a subgenre of the sitcom that is animated instead of live action and is generally made or created for adult audiences in most cases. ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', ''The Simpsons'', ''South Park'', and ''Family Guy'' are four of ...
(1989–present). It is an exclamation typically used after Homer injures himself, realizes that he has done something foolish, or when something bad has happened or is about to happen to him. All his prominent blood relations—son
Bart Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...
, daughters
Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...
and Maggie, his father,
his mother ''His Mother'' is a 1912 American silent film produced by Kalem Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles. It was one of more than a dozen films produced by the Kalem Company filmed in Ir ...
and
half-brother A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the subject. A male sibling is a brother and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised separa ...
—have also been heard to use it themselves in similar circumstances. On a few occasions, Homer's wife Marge and characters outside the family such as Mr. Burns and Sideshow Bob have also used this phrase. In 2006, "d'oh!" was listed as number six on
TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cl ...
's list of the 100 greatest television catchphrases. The spoken word "d'oh" is a
sound trademark A sound trademark or sound logo or audio logo is a trademark where sound is used to perform the trademark function of uniquely identifying the commercial origin of products or services. In recent times, sounds have been increasingly used as trade ...
of
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
(now known as 20th Century Studios). Since 2001, the word "doh" has appeared in the ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
'', without the apostrophe. Early recorded usages of the sound "d'oh" are in numerous episodes of the
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...
series '' It's That Man Again'' between 1945 and 1949, but the '' OxfordWords'' blog notes "Homer was responsible for popularizing it as an exclamation of frustration." The term also appeared in an early issue of '' Mad'' comics, with a different spelling but the same meaning, in issue 8 (December 1953 – January 1954); in a one-page story by
Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book '' Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ''Little Ann ...
entitled "Hey Look!", a man seeking peace and quiet suddenly hears a loud radio and, grimacing, says, "D-oooh – the neighbors radio!!"


Origin

Several decades before The Simpsons was aired, the exclamation "D'oh!" was used in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
radio comedy Radio comedy, or comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve variety show, sitcom elements, sketches, and various types of comedy found in other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic elements, as these can be con ...
programme, '' It's That Man Again'', which ran from 1939 to 1949. It was the
catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
of the formidable, but soft-hearted, character, "Miss Hotchkiss". During the voice recording session for a '' Tracey Ullman Show'' short, Homer was required to utter what was written in the script as an "annoyed grunt".
Dan Castellaneta Daniel Louis Castellaneta (; born October 29, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for voicing Homer Simpson on the animated series ''The Simpsons'' (as well as other characters on the show such as Abraham "Grampa" ...
rendered it as a drawn out "d'ooooooh". This was inspired by
Jimmy Finlayson James Henderson Finlayson (27 August 1887 – 9 October 1953) was a Scottish actor who worked in both silent and sound comedies. Bald, with a fake moustache, Finlayson had many trademark comic mannerisms and is known for his squinting, outraged ...
, who had used the term in his first sound film role, in 1929's '' Men O' War'', as a minced oath for suggesting the word "damn!" without actually saying it. The mustachioed Scottish actor (acknowledged by Dan Castellaneta as the progenitor for Homer Simpson's similar expression of disbelief or outrage) would go on to appear in 33 Laurel and Hardy films, from the pre-sound era up to 1940.
Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...
felt that it would better suit the timing of animation if it were spoken faster. Castellaneta then shortened it to a quickly uttered "d'oh!" The first intentional use of "d'oh!" occurred in the ''Ullman'' short "The Krusty the Clown Show" (1989), and its first usage in the series was in the series premiere, "
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (titled onscreen as "The Simpsons Christmas Special") is the series premiere of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on Fox in the United States on December 17, 1989. Intro ...
". It is typically represented in the show's script as "(annoyed grunt)", and is so spelled out in the official titles of several episodes. Some episodes feature variations of the word such as " Bart of Darkness" ( season six, 1994), where Homer says "D'oheth" after an Amish farmer points out to him that he has built a barn instead of the swimming pool he was intending; "
Thirty Minutes over Tokyo "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo" is the twenty-third and final episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 16, 1999. In the episode, after being ...
" ( season ten, 1999), where Homer says "d'oh" in Japanese (with English subtitles, the spoken phrase being "''shimatta baka ni''", meaning roughly "damn folly"); or ''
The Simpsons Movie ''The Simpsons Movie'' is a 2007 American Animation, animated comedy film based on the long-running animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. The film was directed by the show's supervising director David Silverman (animator), David Silverman and star ...
'' (2007) where Homer shouts "d'oooohme!" after the EPA seals the Simpsons' hometown, Springfield, in a giant dome. The spelling is made official in " El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)" ( season eight, 1997), in which Homer, after having eaten a very spicy chili, hallucinates about a tortoise and exclaims a loud "d'oh!" as he realizes that he needs to follow the slow animal in order to find out about his soul mate.


Episode names

As the word arose out of Castellaneta's interpretation of a non-specific direction, it did not have an official spelling for several years. Instead, it was always written in Simpsons scripts as "(Annoyed Grunt)", and then later on being spelled "d'oh", as it remains today. * " Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" (
Season 8 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
, 1997) * " D'oh-in' in the Wind" ( Season 10, 1998) * " E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)" ( Season 11, 1999) * "
Days of Wine and D'oh'ses "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses" is the eighteenth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 9, 2000. In the episode, Barney rea ...
" ( Season 11, 2000) * " C.E. D'oh" ( Season 14, 2003) * " I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot" ( Season 15, 2004) * "
We're on the Road to D'ohwhere "We're on the Road to D'ohwhere" is the eleventh episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 29, 2006. Plot While messing around ...
" ( Season 17, 2006) * " G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)" ( Season 18, 2006) * " He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs" ( Season 19, 2007) * " Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh" ( Season 20, 2009) * " The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed" ( Season 21, 2010) * " The Falcon and the D'ohman" ( Season 23, 2011) * " The D'oh-cial Network" ( Season 23, 2012) * " I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say D'oh" ( Season 30, 2019) * " D'oh Canada" ( Season 30, 2019)


Dictionary

The term "d'oh!" has been used or adopted by many ''Simpsons'' fans as well as non-fans. The term has become commonplace in modern speech and demonstrates the extent of the show's influence. "D'oh!" was first added to the '' Oxford Dictionary of English'' in 1998 as an interjection with the definition "(usually n a mannermildly derogatory) used to comment on an action perceived as foolish or stupid." In 2001, the word "d'oh" was added to the ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
'';OED, 3rd draft online edition, s.v. "doh" The definition given is: :"Expressing frustration at the realisation that things have turned out badly or not as planned, or that one has just said or done something foolish. Also (usu. mildly ''derogatory''): implying that another person has said or done something foolish" (cf. DUH ''int.''). The headword spelling is ''doh'', but ''d'oh'' is listed as a variant (as is ''dooh''). The etymology section notes "the word appears (in the form ''D'oh'') in numerous publications based on ''The Simpsons''". Eight quotations featuring the sound "d'oh" are cited: the earliest is from a 1945 episode of the BBC radio series '' It's That Man Again''; two others are ''Simpsons''-related.


See also

* ''
¡Ay, caramba! "''¡Ay, caramba!''" (), from the Spanish interjections (denoting surprise or pain) and (a minced oath for ), is an exclamation used in Portuguese (''Ai, caramba!'') and Spanish to denote surprise (usually positive). In popular culture The ex ...
'' * Facepalm


References


External links


The definitive "D'oh" list

D'oh! joins the Oxford English Dictionary
– BBC News *  – A sharp contortion of the face expressive of pain, contempt, or disgust. * {{The Simpsons The Simpsons Quotations from film Quotations from television Quotations from animation Interjections Running gags Comedy catchphrases Sound trademarks 1988 neologisms American English words 1980s neologisms American English idioms de:Die Simpsons#„Neinn!“ sv:Homer Simpson#Kända citat