Oy vey! is an exclamation of dismay or exasperation meaning "woe is me," or "oh no." This exclamation was borrowed from Yiddish (אױ װײ). A related exclamation is "vey iz mir" (װײ'ז מיר) - woe is me.

Etymology

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Although there is a Hebrew noun "אױ" meaning "woe," the Yiddish expression (like much of Yiddish) has its roots in Middle High German - in this case the word ouwê, from which also comes the Modern German exclamation "o weh/au weh," meaning "ouch."

Use in popular culture

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• Oy vey is a favorite expression of radio personality Howard Stern.
• It is rumored that "Oy vey" was Albert Einstein's first reaction to the detonation of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima.
• In New York City, it is used on a sign on the Williamsburg Bridge which reads "Leaving Brooklyn: Oy vey!".
• It is a lyric in the chorus of "Pretty Fly (For a Rabbi)" by Weird Al Yankovic.
• In 1992, the band Tin Machine released a live album entitled Oy Vey, Baby, perhaps a pun on U2's "Achtung, Baby".
• In the 2005 movie Madagascar, Gloria the hippopotamus says "Oy vey" when she and the other animals find themselves on the island of Madagascar.

See also

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• Yiddish
• Jewish languages
• List of English words of Yiddish origin