D'oh!
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Image:D oh.jpg "D'oh!" is the comical catch phrase of Homer Simpson, from the long-running animated series The Simpsons. It is typically used when Homer injures himself, realizes that he has done something stupid, or when something bad has happened to him.
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Variations
Variations of the catch phrase have appeared in some episodes of The Simpsons.
- On a family trip to Japan, Homer said something in Japanese along the lines of "shimatta-baka-ni," which was translated in subtitles as "D'oh!" "Shimatta" in Japanese is roughly equivalent to "damn it!", whereas "baka" is used to describe an idiotic or foolish person or thing.
- When Homer had his jaw wired shut in the episode "Jaws Wired Shut" he was reduced to communicating with others by writing on a chalkboard, including going so far as to write "D'oh" (which confirms the correct spelling of the phrase).
- In the episode "Bart of Darkness", while talking to an apparently Amish man, Homer expresses his frustration over building a barn instead of a pool with a cry of "D'oheth!"
- In the episode "Burns' Heir", Mr. Burns decides to make Bart his heir and tries to convince Bart that his family doesn't want him anymore. He allows Bart to watch his "family", actually actors hired by Burns, on closed-circuit television. The Homer impersonator (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Michael Caine) drops his sandwich and exclaims "b'oh!" Bart comments that something about his family doesn't seem quite right. At this, Burns switches off the monitor, scurries onto the set and tells the actor "Homer Simpson doesn't say 'B'oh', he says...(looks through script)...'D'oh'!"; when "Homer" tries again, he says it nearly correctly (Duh-oh), if unconvincingly.
- In the episode "Bart Gets an Elephant", when forced to spring clean the Simpson home, Homer says "I call the basement." Bart and Lisa both say fine, followed by Homer saying "D'oh?" as if asking a question.
- In the episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show", due to falling ratings Homer is hired as the extra character Poochie on the show. However, it is a disaster and after the first viewing it becomes clear that Poochie is universally despised. Homer finally asks himself if he liked it. His brain replies that he doesn't want to know and instructs him to look sad and say "D'oh!". So Homer shakes his head and very sadly says "D'oh!".
- In the episode Itchy & Scratchy Land the family gets stuck in traffic and all yell "D'oh!".
- When the Simpsons guest starred on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends XP, Coco says "coco" which is subtitled as "D'oh!". In Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Coco has no subtitles but on Foster's Home For Imagingary Friends XP, Coco has subtitles.
The term has also appeared in Simpsons creator Matt Groening's Life in Hell comic strip, written "D'ohh! [after the manner of Homer Simpson]" twice in the same strip.
Episode names
"D'oh!" is not often written as such in The Simpsons scripts. Instead it is written as "annoyed grunt." In recognition of this, several episodes feature the phrase "annoyed grunt" in the episode title where one would expect the term "d'oh". Such episodes include "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot" (instead of "I, D'oh-bot", a play on I, Robot), "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" (a parody of Mary Poppins) and "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)".
However, "d'oh" is always uttered in the show's promos that are run by Fox. For example, when Fox promoted the episode that was scheduled to air immediately after Super Bowl XXXIX, it was billed as the "Super Bowl Halftime D'oh!" because Homer interrupts the promo's announcer with "d'oh," which obviously was intended to be a replacement for "show."
Four episodes so far have "d'oh" in their titles: season 10's "D'oh-in' in the Wind," season 11's "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses," season 14's "C.E. D'oh," and season 17's "We're on the Road to D'ohwhere."
Usage
The term d'oh! has been adopted by many Simpsons fans. The term has become commonplace in modern speech and demonstrates the reach of the show's influence. "D'oh" has been added to the Webster's Millennium Dictionary of English and the Oxford English Dictionary. It is defined as: "expressing frustration at the realization that things have turned out badly or not as planned, or that one has just said or done something foolish. Also (usu. mildly derogatory), implying that another person has said or done something foolish (cf. DUH int.)." The OED etymologizes the word as "popularized by" The Simpsons, but lists usages as early as 1945.
In the German-dubbed version, d'oh! is translated to Nein! (No!). In the Spanish-dubbed version, d'oh! is changed to ¡Ou! (pronounced like the letter O), which is not actually an interjection in Spanish (though it resembles the interjection ¡Ouch!). The pronunciation, with the proper Homer-like intonation, has entered as well in the popular culture of many Spanish-speaking countries. The closed captions for the program (at least in the U.S.), spell D'oh as D-ohh!
Kenny Mayne of ESPN's SportsCenter has uttered the quote, "That must be a Homer, 'cause the pitcher just said D'oh!" Stargate SG-1's Jack O'Neill has been known to utter "D'oh!" on occasion, notably in the episode "Window of Opportunity." It was also said repeatedly by various characters (especially during the movie segments) of the show Mystery Science Theater 3000. In an issue of the comic book Star Trek: Deep Space Nine published by Malibu Comics, the alien character Jadzia Dax was seen to exclaim "D'oh!" after making an error.
A local FOX affiliate in Los Angeles, KTTV, regularly uses a soundbite of d'oh! on its nightly 10'clock newcast. The sound is played during the Sports segment when reviewing footage where a ball is dropped or other mistake is made.
Origin
After years of speculation, fans finally learned in "Mother Simpson" that when Homer's mother, Mona Simpson whacks her head while getting into a van, she cries out "D'oh!" Homer's half brother Herb Powell also uses "D'oh!" in the episode Oh Brother, Where Art Thou. Grampa Abraham Simpson also says "D'oh!" in this episode. Thus it is conceivable that the phrase originally came from Abe Simpson, and Mona and Homer learned it from him. Herb of course was placed up for adoption shortly after his birth so could not have learned it from any other Simpson.