"Whoops-a-Daisy" Idiom Meaning, Origin & History | Superduper English Idioms
Channel: Superduper English Idioms
Date: 18/12/2020

0:00 - How to Say, “Whoops-a-daisy.”
0:19 - Examples of “Whoops-a-daisy.”
0:57 - Meaning of “Whoops-a-daisy.”
1:54 - Origin of “Whoops-a-daisy.”
3:21 - More Examples of “Whoops-a-daisy.”
3:59 - Conclusion

“Whoops-a-daisy.”

When someone says, “whoops-a-daisy”, they mean that something unexpected, surprising has happened, normally something that can be fixed easily.

“Whoops-a-daisy, you fell! Let me help you up,” you might say purringly to your six-month-old baby who is just learning to crawl.

Maybe you’re baking with your grandma, “Whoops-a-daisy, that’s way too much sugar.”

“Whoops-a-daisy, I forgot an important line of code,” your co-worker might say as you look over her software program.

As you can see, “whoops-a-daisy” is an interjection, an abrupt remark, a word that expresses a spontaneous reaction or feeling; said when something unintended, unplanned, accidental happens.

“Whoops-a-daisy” has many spelling variants, including “oops-a-daisy” and “oop-a-daisy”, with or without the hyphens, the line between the words.

A closely related variant is, “up a daisy” or “ups-a-daisy”, which is believed by the Merriam-Webster dictionary to be the original exclamation.

“Up a daisy” appears in text as early as the 18th century and it is believed that mispronouncing “up” as “oop” or “whoop” led the exclamation to common usage.

Why “daisy”, though? If we look at Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, an expression, “alack the day” is used to mean “a day of regret”...

… which led to the emergence of “lackadaisical”, meaning a lack of enthusiasm or determination, or a description of something half-heartedly, lazily attempted.

It’s now easy to see where “daisy” in “whoops-a-daisy” or “up a daisy” comes from.

“Up a daisy” or “ups-a-daisy” might be used when a mistake is made, but they are also often used right before you pick something up; such as a baby or a heavy object.

“Whoops-a-daisy, I left my cellphone in the car; give me a second,” you might say as you head back to the car to get your mobile.

Perhaps you put too much hot sauce on your friend’s food, “Whoops-a-daisy! I hope you like your food spicy.

“Whoops-a-daisy, you dropped your ball,” you might say to your daughter as you help her pick it up.

So, the next time something unexpected, surprising, accidental happens - but it’s a small matter, not a big deal - be sure to exclaim, “whoops-a-daisy”!

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References: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/word-history-upsy-daisy-oopsie-whoops-upsidaisy-definition