Uff Da!

[hrh_disney_queen]

Does anyone use this expression, or hear others use it? Where have you heard it?

My mom (full blooded Norweigian) used to use this expression. When we would go to Iowa to visit her Norweigian family, we heard it all the time. I was just wondering if anyone else had heard it - or uses it now?

I wanted to put it on my Montana license plate, but it was taken!

 

[mickeyboat]

I say it occasionally, and my relatives in MN say it all the time. There is a high concentration of Norwegians (Sven and Ollie jokes, anyone?) in the upper midwest.

 

[EdiePA]

I heard it on a VeggieTales video once. Does that count?

Edie

 

[agnes!]

I used to live in Fargo ND & went to one of the Minnesota colleges - used to hear it *all* the time.

agnes!

 

[LJC1861]

ALL THE TIME!!!!!

I first heard it when I traveled with "Up With People" We had a lot of Norwegians and Swedes in our cast who used it and eventually a lot more of us did too. My partner (who also traveled in Up With People) and I use it quite frequently around our house to this day.

Great expression!!

 

[marthachick]

Ok, so what does it mean for us "non-Norwegian" speaking people?

 

[mickeyboat]

Ok, so what does it mean for us "non-Norwegian" speaking people?

There isn't a good literal translation, but it kinda means "oh crap" - kinda like "oy vey" - just kinda disgruntled.

There are some great "uff da" jokes out there, too.

 

[AshleyW]

My aunt is Norwegian and says it all the time. When we go up to northern Iowa to visit her family, someone is ALWAYS saying it. I've even had to stop myself from saying it after spending time around her, haha

 

[Parkhopper]

I heard it on a VeggieTales video once. Does that count?

Edie

THAK YOU! I have said Uff Da for years, but could not remember where I got it from!

Suzi

 

[Aisling]

My grandmother was an off-the-boat Norwegian who said it all the time. She lived in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn NYC, where there is a large Norwegian community. We were taught that it meant a bit more than oh crap, using the s word. What I never understood is that she'd say it whenever someone coughed hard.

She's in heaven now, so all the family Norwegian traditions have gone with her.

 

[georgina]

Norwegian relatives from Wisconsin use it when picking up heavy items, getting up from a deep chair, etc, more of a groan than a curse.

 

[Pooh67_68]

I heard it recently on a Golden Girls repeat, its the only time I have every heard it used and it was used as a congrats.



I use Oy Vey a lot.

 

[elgerber]

LOL, I have relatives on my family tree way back, from Norway, and I live in MN. Yep, hear it all the time, and occasionally say it!

 

[disykat]

Sure. I live in the "fjords" of the Puget Sound and am Lutheran. I know lots of people with a Norwegian background.

 

[bumbershoot]

Sure. I live in the "fjords" of the Puget Sound and am Lutheran. I know lots of people with a Norwegian background.

Yep, it's hard to avoid 'round here, especially up in Ballard!

 

[nskjerven]

I hear it all the time, from my 1/2 Norwegian spouse and then even more from my 1/4 Norwegian kiddos.

Not to mention from EVERYONE when we go to any event at our local Sons of Norway Hall.

Is the coffee too hot? Uff Da!
Is the coffee too cold? Uff Da!
Is there no more coffee? Uff Da!

I miss hearing it the most from my DH's Grandmother, she passed away in 2005. I miss you Gramma Lucy

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

I miss hearing my mom saying it, too. The way I remember her and her family using it was more of a display of empathy. Like if I walked up with a skinned knee, the whole bunch of grandma, mom, and aunts sitting around the kitchen table would say in unison, "Uff da."

 

[SleepyMom]

We say uff da a lot, I got it from my Great-Aunt and Uncle. They used to say it all the time, kind of like a groan when you didn't want to do something, or in surprise when you heard something unexpected. I think it has a lot of different meanings. Makes me miss them

 

[Lachesis00]

The town I grew up in was founded by a Norwegian and is heavly into the Norwegian population/culture so I heard it a lot and use it even though I am not Norwegian.

When you posted this, I thought of the group "Da Yoppers" heheheee.

 

[KristaTX]

I've never heard or seen it.