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We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Thursday, October 19. 2017

Oofah!

It's a real NYC expression of surprise, not for the effete.  Can be good or bad surprise. It can also be used for sarcastic surprise, as in "Hillary fell down the stairs holding a cup of coffee? Oofah."
Posted by The News Junkie in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 14:34 | Comments (6) | Trackbacks (0)

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I thought it was American Scandinavian.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uff_da

Did New Yorkers culturally misappropriate this from Scandinavian Americans?
#1 Jim on 2017-10-19 16:31 (Reply)
That's what I first thought when I saw the word, was he trying to say uffda. And it's never a good surprise. If it is particularly unpleasant, my grandmother would say, "ish," short for ishda. There's no translation; these are true expletives.
#1.1 Ken in NH on 2017-10-19 20:22 (Reply)
She fell up the stairs while descending! And we did not make this woman, who can defy gravity, potus?
#2 Judith on 2017-10-19 19:40 (Reply)
Appalling.
I was born and bred in New Yawk - and nobody of my generation would deign to use such a hick-town locution.

Either it's being used with condescending irony, or it's a sign of degeneracy.
#3 Ben David on 2017-10-20 06:51 (Reply)
"Hillary fell down the stairs holding a cup of coffee? Oofah."

That would oohrah !!!
#4 treefroggy on 2017-10-20 10:49 (Reply)
Variant of the Russian/Greek "oopa!" Related to the Norwegian "uff da!", the Swedish "usch da!", and the American "who left that goddamed toy on the stairs?!"
#5 bobby b on 2017-10-21 05:57 (Reply)

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