{{Short description|Yiddish phrase expressing dismay or exasperation}} {{pp-vandalism|small=yes}} {{Distinguish|Oi (interjection)}} [[Image:Oy Vey vc (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Sign on the Williamsburg Bridge leaving Brooklyn]]
'''''Oy vey''''' ({{langx|yi|אױ װײ|links=no}}) is a Yiddish phrase expressing dismay or exasperation. Also spelled '''''oy vay''''', '''''oy veh''''', or '''''oi vey''''', and often abbreviated to '''''oy''''', the expression may be translated as "oh, woe!" or "woe is me!" Its Hebrew equivalent is '''''oy vavoy''''' ({{Lang|he|אוֹי וַאֲבוֹי}}, {{Transliteration|he|óy va'avóy}}).<ref name=Chabad.org/><ref>See Proverbs 23:29, where King Solomon asks, "To whom is ''oy'' and to whom is ''avoy''?"</ref> Sometimes the phrase is elongated to '''''oi yoi yoi''''' (with the '''''yoi''''' being repeated as many times as desired).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goren |first=Biranit |date=2013-05-29 |title=An Ode to 'Oy' |url=https://www.atlantajewishtimes.com/an-ode-to-oy/ |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=Atlanta Jewish Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Derivation== According to etymologist Douglas Harper, the phrase is derived from Yiddish and is of Germanic origin.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/oy | access-date=10 Oct 2011 | title=Oy | publisher=Douglas Harper Online Etymology Dictionary | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925213122/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/oy | archive-date=2011-09-25 }}</ref> It is cognate with the German expression ''o weh'', or ''auweh'', combining the German and Dutch exclamation ''au!'' meaning "ouch/oh" and the German word ''Weh'', a cognate of the English word ''woe'' (as well as the Dutch ''wee'' meaning pain). The expression is also related to ''oh ve'', an older expression in Danish and Swedish, and ''oy wah'', an expression used with a similar meaning in the Montbéliard region in France.{{Citation needed|date=November 2012}} The Latin equivalent is ''heu, vae!''; a more standard expression would be ''o, me miserum,'' or ''heu, me miserum.''{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}
According to Chabad.org,{{Unreliable source?|reason=chabad.org site staff are not a reliable source in the field of linguistics (talk page) |date=January 2022}} an alternative theory for the origin of the Yiddish expression is that "oy" stems from Biblical Hebrew, and that "vey" is its Aramaic equivalent.<ref name=Chabad.org>{{cite web |url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/699508/jewish/What-Does-Oy-Vey-Mean.htm |title=What Does Oy Vey Mean? |website=Chabad.org |access-date=2013-04-19}}</ref> It is alternatively spelled אוי, הוי, or הו in Biblical Hebrew <ref name= Brown-Driver-Briggs>{{cite web |url=http://www.ericlevy.com/revel/bdb/bdb/5/he-Index.html |title=Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon |access-date=2020-12-08}}</ref> and ווי, וי, ואי, and ויא in Aramaic.<ref name=Jastrow>{{cite web |url=http://www.tyndalearchive.com/TABS/Jastrow/index.htm |title=A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Bavli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature |access-date=2020-12-08}}</ref> The term is occasionally doubled, as הוֹ־הוֹ in Amos 5:16 and וי וי in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on that verse, but two versions were never combined classically.
==Significance== The expression is often abbreviated to simply ''oy'', or elongated to ''oy vey iz mir'' ("Oh, woe is me").<ref name=Stevens>Stevens, Payson et al. ''Meshuggenary: Celebrating the World of Yiddish'', p. 34 (Simon and Schuster 2002).</ref> The fuller lament is sometimes found as the more Germanic ''oy vey ist mir''.<ref>Rozakis, Laurie. ''The Portable Jewish Mother'', p. 274 (Adams Media 2007).</ref><ref>Kaplan, Alice. ''French Lessons: A Memoir'', p. 5 (University of Chicago Press 1994).</ref> The main purpose or effect of elongating it is often dramatic, something like a "cosmic ouch".<ref name= Stevens /><ref>Jacobs, Meredith. ''The Modern Jewish Mom's Guide to Shabbat'', p. 229 (HarperCollins 2007).</ref> An ''Oy'' is not merely an ordinary word, but rather expresses an entire world view, according to visual anthropologist Penny Wolin.<ref>Wolin, Penny. ''The Jews of Wyoming: Fringe of the Diaspora'', p. 196 (Crazy Woman Creek Press 2000).</ref> Its meaning is approximately opposite that of mazel tov.<ref name=Stevens /> A related expression is ''oy gevalt'', which can have a similar meaning, or also express shock or amazement.
== Antisemitic usage == "''Oy vey''" has been used as an antisemitic dog whistle to imply that the person referred to is Jewish or of Jewish origin, commonly posted under videos or other media. It is similar to, and often used in the same context as, the triple parentheses also known as "an echo".<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Ward |first=Justin |title=Day of the trope: White nationalist memes thrive on Reddit's r/The_Donald |pages=1 |work=Southern Poverty Law Center|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/04/19/day-trope-white-nationalist-memes-thrive-reddits-rthedonald }}</ref> In March 2019 the phrase "Oy vey! This is MAGA country" was one of many used to vandalize Jewish headstones.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Anti-Semitism Hit 'Near-Historic Levels' In 2018, Report Finds |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/anti-semitism-2018-united-states_n_5cc8aef7e4b0e4d7572b2edf }}</ref> The phrase was also used with the antisemitic catchphrase "The Goyim Know" seen with "Oy vey, the Goyim Know".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Goyim Know/Shut It Down |url=https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/goyim-knowshut-it-down |website=ADL}}</ref> "Oy vey, it's anuddah shoah!" a mocking way of saying "Oh woe, it's another Holocaust" used to belittle those who are against antisemitism.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Three Great Ways to Troll the Internet's Nazis - Tablet Magazine |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/beyond-three-more-ways-to-troll-the-internets-nazis }}</ref>
== Similar phrases == There exist similar phrases in other languages, such as {{langx|de|Au weia}}, {{Langx|De|Oh weh}} {{langx|nl|ach en wee}}, {{langx|sv|ack och ve}}, Polish: ''Ojojoj'' etc. Also compare {{langx|yi|אוי געוואַלד}} (''oy gevald''), meaning “oh woe”.
==See also== *List of English words of Yiddish origin *Antisemitism *Istighfar *Oi (interjection), a similar-sounding English exclamation, said to also have older European origins *''Oi Yoi Yoi,'' 1963 painting by painter Roger Hilton
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Wiktionary-inline|oy vey}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oy Vey}} Category:Yiddish words and phrases Category:Internet memes Category:Antisemitism Category:Euphemisms Category:Holocaust denial