Talk:Uff da

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Combined Entry[edit]

I combined the text from this article with the text from the tranwiki'd entry Uffdah in wiktionary. Now, the question is, how are the entrys updated like in a disambiguation page? Or something like that? Is there a way to make one article have 2 pointers to it? Can an experienced admin help me out? Gbeeker 01:59, 18 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I got it, I think - used redirect. Gbeeker 02:07, 18 Jun 2005 (UTC)

How come no mention of "uff da jeg"? (oof duh yáy) (basically "woe is me"/"oh my", depending on intonation or context). I'm not how much this article can be developed without breaking the ice on the WP:OR pond. Tom e r ^talk 00:30, 25 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

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Is "uff da jeg" used in the U.S? It is grammatically incorrect in Norwegian. "Da" = "then" so it would translate to "Oh then me." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.54.125.130 (talk) 13:07, 14 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Meaning[edit]

Does it really mean "oh shit"? It doesn't mean that in Norway at least.Inge 09:10, 27 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I've never heard anyone use it that way here, in a city where the phone book has like 15 pages of Andersons and 20 pages of Johnsons (and more Janssens and Johannsens and Jensens and Jensons and any number of other spellings), to say nothing of the Nielsons and Nelsons and Swensons and Swansons and all the other -sons [no -daughters tho...all the Icelanders are on the other side of the state... :-p]...and only 2 pages of Smiths. I grew up with "uff da" and "uff da jeg", and never once was it used instead of "oh shit", it's generally a vocalization where other people might audibly groan or say "oh my!", with "uff da jeg" (jeg pronounced like "yay") being a more emphatic version, not more vulgar. Tom e r ^talk 00:06, 25 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I, too, come from an environment in which I hear "uff da" often, and it's never vulgar. Since nobody seems to object, I will remove the comment. Adso de Fimnu 23:59, 3 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I've heard it described (by American students of Norwegian) as the cultural equivalent of "Oy vey". --Ingeborg S. Nordén 00:48, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have heard it described as halfway between "drat" and "damn". It certainly may be an expression of surprise (as is "oh shit") but it is not actually profane. Afalbrig 06:12, 18 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Living in a Norwegian area of Minnesota, I would say that I only hear the exclamation "uff da" used when the person is surprised by the size of something (in the direction of large, heavy, hot). You say it if you’re picking something up and it’s heavier than you expected, someone tells you an amount and it’s larger than you expected, you open the door and it’s hotter outside than you expected, you’re exhausted by doing hard work. The expression is useful because there is no good English equivalent. I don't agree with "drat" or "damn," as they imply something has gone wrong. I think "wow" comes closer in meaning. It’s not vulgar, and I’ve never heard it used to mean "ouch." -- Anne, 5 October 2006

I've used the word in almost every way the defininition lists. It is a catch-all saying of my Minnesotan family. "Uffda, she's skinny!", "Uffda, I burnt my mouth on that hot krumkaka!", "Uffda, I need to clean the house!", and "Uffda, that is some good lefsa!!". --Kat, 6 December 2006

I am norwegian on both sides of my family, but even so, my mom's a little more worldy and never says Uff da. My dad on the other hand is a little more provincial (when it comes to his language anyway) and the meaning I've over gathered from my dad (and myself) using uff da was after you did something exhausting and you're relieved of it. I've never heard used in other way though. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.36.137.63 (talk) 21:33, 16 December 2006 (UTC).[reply]

I'm a norwegian national and yeah, it's a pretty innocent expression. I've always compared it to English "Oh dear" or "Oh my". I use it sometimes myself, to for instance express sympathy. Some hypothetical examples: "Uff da, did you hurt yourself?". Or "My pet rat died yesterday" to which I would have replied "Uff da." (With a more sympathetic intonation). On the other hand, if I hurt myself, I usually use much stronger expletives, which wouldn't quite compare with "uff da". ;) 193.69.146.66 10:32, 28 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

:::I'm norwegian as well, and I agree with most of your post. It's important to note that the expression has very little to do with surprise, and it is NOT profane. In fact, it is much more likely to be used by norwegians "coming from a furnished home", if you catch my drift. Norwegians used to rougher language will most likely not use this expression. "Uff da" is almost always used to express sympathy, and it is NEVER associated with anything positive. It's sort of like a "That's too bad" in a non-sarcastic meaning. The expression has probably taken a slightly new direction in Norwegian-American communities, though. Andrimner (talk) 22:03, 21 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It certainly doesn't mean "oh, shit", but it could be used in some of the same circumstances where that phrase is used, but not all of them. If your car is about to go into the ditch, you might say "oh, shit!" but probably not uff da. Now if you get out of the car and realize that you are not going to be able to get your car out of the ditch in time for the Vikings game, "uff da" might be said. At least in Minnesota, at can often mean "This is going to be difficult" or an expression of mild negative surprise. It's not used in the heat of the moment as "oh, shit!" is often used. If someone hears that the Vikings are down by three touchdowns at halftime, they might say uff da, but if they were told that they were leading by three touchdowns at halftime, they would be unlikely to say uff da.--RLent 18:16, 5 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Does it mean the same thing as "oj då" in Swedish?--GoldenMew (talk) 17:05, 31 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'm swedish and the first expression that comes to mind is the common swedish expression "usch då" that seems to have the exact same meaning. it is a very innocent saying expression.

Usage[edit]

Is the "da" in "Uff da" supposed to be all lower case or U/L? It's used both ways in the article.

It's always written "da", with both letters in lower case. 193.69.146.66 10:45, 28 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I have heard that "Uff Da" is still in use in Yorkshire to refer to a mistake. The Vikings were there, too! Pustelnik (talk) 19:51, 21 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Example ::

At a Lutheran church dinner, two non-Norwegians are using the lefse as napkins... Uff da ! LorenzoB (talk) 03:53, 5 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Is "Uff-da" an English word ?[edit]

Is "Uff-da" a word that is commonly understood in any English-speaking nation or state ? Question is not about this article, but "Uff-da" is added to a list of modern Norwegian words that has been exported into English language. I strongly doubt this word is in common anywhere where English is the native language. Boeing720 (talk) 22:27, 7 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Pronunciation?[edit]

Mcswell (talk) 04:53, 13 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

"List of cultural references"[edit]

This section is currently an indiscriminate list of uses in popular culture.

"When properly written, such sections can positively distinguish Wikipedia from more traditional encyclopedias. They should be verifiable and should contain facts of genuine interest to the reader. Detailing a topic's impact upon popular culture can be a worthwhile contribution to an article, provided that the content is properly sourced and consistent with policies and guidelines, such as neutral point of view, no original research, and what Wikipedia is not."

"When poorly written or poorly maintained, however, these sections can devolve into indiscriminate collections of trivia or cruft. They should be carefully maintained, as they may attract trivial entries, especially if they are in list format."

Projecting this idea into other articles, imagine Fuck, God bless you or several hundred articles with a random selection of instances where the word or phrase was used in theater, TV, movies, novels, operas, poems, knock knock jokes, comic strips, etc. We'd have much more extensive versions of what we have here: random selections of uses in popular culture. - SummerPhD^v2.0 16:47, 28 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The original revert claimed "the significance of the article is not merely etymology". This may be true, but an indiscriminate collection of trivial "in popular culture" uses of the phrase does nothing to establish this.

A new restoration of the indiscriminate list of trivial "in popular culture" uses, claims "contra the Talk page post, the list of institutions is limited".

I am not sure in what way the list is "limited" or how that addresses the fact that this is an indiscriminate list of trivial entries. I'll wait a few days for anyone caring to clarify. - SummerPhD^v2.0 22:51, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]