D'oh

D'oh

Catchphrase Information Character: Homer Simpson Reason for saying: Anger, frustration, pain, or misfortune. Written in scripts and episode titles as: (Annoyed Grunt) First heard: "Punching Bag"

"D'oh!" (typically represented in the show's script as "(Annoyed Grunt)") is a famous catchphrase of Homer Simpson. It was famously accepted into the Oxford English Dictionary in 2002. The quote is normally used when Homer hurts himself, finds out something to his embaressment or chagrin, is outsmarted, or undergoes or anticipates misfortune. Other characters from the Simpsons have also been heard using the catchprase in addition to Homer, the most common being his son Bart.

Conception[edit]

The show's writers use the phrase "(Annoyed Grunt)" to represent the catchphrase; episode titles with the original spelling include "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)", "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-bot", and "G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)". Episodes with d'oh in their titles include "D'oh-in' in the Wind", "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses", "C.E. D'oh", "We're on the Road to D'ohwhere", "He Loves to Fly and He D'oh's", and "Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh".

When Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer, was first asked to voice the exclamation, he rendered it as a drawn out "doooh", inspired by Jimmy Finlayson, the moustached Scottish actor who appeared in many Laurel and Hardy films. Finlayson coined the term as a minced oath to stand in for the word "Damn!"^[1] The show's creator Matt Groening felt that it would better suit the timing of animation if it were spoken faster so Castellaneta shortened it to "D'oh!"^[2]

It was first heard on a Tracey Ullman Show short entitled "Punching Bag", which first aired on November 27, 1988. When Bart and Lisa try to hide a punching bag with his face on it, and it knocks him out. Homer's reaction is "D'oh!" Homer said it on another Tracey Ullman Show short, this one being "The Krusty the Clown Show" which first aired on January 15, 1989. Homer says, "D'oh!" when he sees Bart getting into trouble on Krusty's show. The next occasion it was heard was in the first episodes of The Simpsons, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", which first aired on December 17, 1989.

Variations[edit]

Variations of the catchphrase have appeared in numerous episodes of The Simpsons.

• In "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (1989), when being a mall Santa, after Homer bumps his head, he says "Ho-ho-d'oh!"

• In "Burns' Heir" (1994), Mr. Burns hires actors to play the Simpsons in an attempt to convince Bart that they no longer love him. Homer's actor says "B'oh!" after dropping his sandwich, and Bart says that something seems different. Burns talks to the actors, and says "Homer doesn't say B'oh, he says..." then looks through a script and says, "He says D'oh!" Homer's actor tries again, and sounds more like, "Duh-oh!"

• In "Bart of Darkness" (1994), Homer accidentally builds a large barn, when intending to build a pool. An Amish man comments, "'Tis a fine barn, but sure 'tis no pool, English." Homer responds with a "D'oh-eth!".

• In "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" (1999), on a family trip to Japan, Homer says "shimatta baka ni" (しまった ばかに), which was translated in subtitles as "D'oh!" Shimatta (しまった) in Japanese is roughly equivalent to "damn it!", whereas baka ni (ばかに), by Japanese grammar, is more literally taken as an adverb—pointed out by the particle ni after a na adjective radical—meaning 'stupidly', with the root word baka being used traditionally to describe an idiotic or foolish person or thing. Japanese speakers normally use baka in relation to silly animals or inanimate things; it is considered extremely rude when used in reference to humans. In the actual Japanese dub, "D'oh" is not translated, but is written in hiragana as どっ！ (dou!).

• In The Simpsons Movie, when the EPA seal Springfield under the dome, Homer cries "D'oooooooooooooohme!!"

• In "The Man Who Came to Be Dinner", Homer sings "D'oh" to the tune of "The Blue Danube".

• In "Whistler's Father", a family is pretending to be the Simpsons as they run to a couch. The Squeaky Voiced Teen appears saying that if you sit on it you bought it. The man says "Due!"

Episode names[edit]

As the word arose out of Castellaneta's interpretation of a non-specific direction, it did not have an official spelling for several years. Instead, it was always written in Simpsons scripts as "(Annoyed Grunt)" from season 7 until season 18, and then later on being spelled "d'oh", starting at season 10.

• "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" (Season 8, 1997)
• "D'oh-in' in the Wind" (Season 10, 1998)
• "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)" & "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses" (Season 11, 1999-2000)
• "C.E. D'oh" (Season 14, 2003)
• "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-bot" (Season 15, 2004)
• "We're on the Road to D'ohwhere" (Season 17, 2006)
• "G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)" (Season 18, 2006)
• "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs" (Season 19, 2007)
• "Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh" (Season 20, 2009)
• "The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed" (Season 21, 2010)
• "The Falcon and the D'ohman" & "The D'oh-cial Network" (Season 23, 2011-2012)
• "I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say D'oh" & *"D'oh Canada" (Season 30, 2019)

Usage[edit]

The term "d'oh!" has been adopted by many Simpsons fans, and even by people that are not specifically 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, the Macmillan Dictionary for Advanced Learners, 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 (Duh)." The OED etymologizes the word as "popularized by The Simpsons" but lists usages as early as 1945. It is also now becoming a popular minced oath for many various curse words, especially damn.

Other languages[edit]

In the German-dubbed version, "d'oh!" is translated to Nein! ('No!', pronounced like the number 'nine'). In the Spanish-dubbed version, "d'oh!" is changed to ¡Ou! (pronounced like the letter 'O'). The pronunciation, along with the proper Homer-esque intonation, has entered the popular culture of many Spanish-speaking countries. The closed captions for the programme—though this may only occur in the US—spell "D'oh" as "D-ohh!". In Italy, the parts where Homer utters the word are left unedited, thus still bearing Castellaneta's voice.^{[citation needed]}. In the French-dubbed version, in France, due to a pronunciation mistake, "d'oh!" became "t'oh!", but in Quebec, Homer's Annoyed Grunt is still "D'oh!".

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• The definitive "D'oh" list
• Homer Simpson says "D'oh!" 32 times (WAV sound file)
• D'oh! joins the Oxford English Dictionary - BBC News