# Correct spelling of Homer Simpsons's "d'oh" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 19, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267 "2013-09-19T21:27:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/1 "2013-09-19T21:27:51Z")
I just read that Matt Groening’s preferred spelling is “doh”, but I remember seeing him writing it as “d’oh” in a _Life In Hell_ comic from around 1996-7. I can picture the strip with the father rabbit talking to Binky and saying “D’oh” with a note referring to Homer Simpson. Does anyone else remember this? Is the strip available anywhere? ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/2 "2013-09-19T21:33:51Z")
According to the [Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27oh!), there are Simpsons episode titles that use “D’oh” as the spelling. That is also the spelling the OED uses, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/3 "2013-09-19T21:37:25Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > That is also the spelling the OED uses, I believe. Here I am, ready to link to Urban Dictionary. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/4 "2013-09-19T21:43:18Z")
I thought the official term as used in their scripts was “(Annoyed Grunt)”? ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/5 "2013-09-19T21:53:40Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > According to the [Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27oh!), there are Simpsons episode titles that use “D’oh” as the spelling. That is also the spelling the OED uses, I believe. I think the OED went without the " ’ " [http://abcnews.go.com/US/t/story?id=93098&page=1](http://abcnews.go.com/US/t/story?id=93098&page=1) > **[Oxford English Dictionary](https://www.oed.com/?tl=true)** > > The OED is the definitive record of the English language, featuring 600,000 words, 3 million quotations, and over 1,000 years of English. I can’t see the actual OED without logging in but according to wiki “d’oh” is the variant spelling of headword “doh”. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/6 "2013-09-19T22:16:53Z")
“Life in Hell” from 1993 (“Return of the Dinosaur Pop-Up Book”) has father Groening saying “D’ohh.” with an arrow pointing to it and reading “In the manner of Homer Simpson”. Can’t link since it’s from my paper copy of “Will & Abe’s Guide to the Universe” ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/7 "2013-09-19T22:23:01Z")
[Here is the panel with the D’ohh](http://imgur.com/2thQeqW). ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/8 "2013-09-19T22:34:16Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > I thought the official term as used in their scripts was “(Annoyed Grunt)”? It is, and there’s been at least one episode with that used as a joke in the title. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/9 "2013-09-19T22:37:53Z")
Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiali(annoyed grunt)cious. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/10 "2013-09-19T22:39:19Z")
But if you spell it without the apostrophe, how do you tell it from the “Doh” in “Play Doh”? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/11 "2013-09-19T22:43:57Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > “Life in Hell” from 1993 (“Return of the Dinosaur Pop-Up Book”) has father Groening saying “D’ohh.” with an arrow pointing to it and reading “In the manner of Homer Simpson”. Wait a minute, how could anyone stretch out an H? Multiple O, sure, no problem. D’ooooh! But D’ohh? How could you pronounce that? This is a pet peeve with mediocre internet erotica, where the writer tries to convey groans of pleasure by holding down the keys. “Mmmmmm!” and “yeeeeess!” are fine, but how could anyone actually say “yyyyyyeeeeeeessssss?” without sounding like the Sub-Genius salute? ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/12 "2013-09-20T00:05:51Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > I thought the official term as used in their scripts was “(Annoyed Grunt)”? The earlier episodes all did this, but later episodes used “D’oh”. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/13 "2013-09-20T00:17:55Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > I thought the official term as used in their scripts was “(Annoyed Grunt)”? That’s how it’s written in the scripts. > [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > The earlier episodes all did this, but later episodes used “D’oh”. They haven’t been consistent about it- probably because they’re doing whatever they think looks funnier. Examples include “Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious” (1997), “G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)” (2006), “D’oh-in in the Wind” (1998), “We’re on the Road to D’ohwhere” (2006), and “The D’oh-cial Network” (2012). ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/14 "2013-09-20T02:15:55Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > [Here is the panel with the D’ohh](http://imgur.com/2thQeqW). That’s awesome! Thanks **Jophiel**. My memory wasn’t perfect, but not bad for something I saw 20 years ago. Now if I could just remember where I put my keys. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/15 "2013-09-20T02:26:15Z")
I was annoyed when the OED left out the apostrophe, and I felt vindicated when, sometime later, I saw the _Simpsons_ episode set in Japan with English subtitles, and Homer’s exclamation was represented as “D’oh!” I remember it as D’oh from the _Life in Hell_ days too. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/16 "2013-09-20T02:45:12Z")
It appears as d’oh (well, “D’OH!”) at 10 seconds [in this clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMR53zHrdzg), and I take that as canon. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/17 "2013-09-20T03:34:20Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > “Mmmmmm!” and “yeeeeess!” are fine, but how could anyone actually say “yyyyyyeeeeeeessssss?” without sounding like the Sub-Genius salute? I picture [Frank Nelson](http://youtu.be/JA_r1Ynl4Ls?t=14s) in all my mediocre internet erotica. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/18 "2013-09-20T04:31:45Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That’s how it’s written in the scripts. > > They haven’t been consistent about it- probably because they’re doing whatever they think looks funnier. Examples include “Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious” (1997), “G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)” (2006), “D’oh-in in the Wind” (1998), “We’re on the Road to D’ohwhere” (2006), and “The D’oh-cial Network” (2012). There’s also “I, (Annoyed Grunt)bot.” (2004) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correct-spelling-of-homer-simpsonss-doh/669267/19 "2013-09-20T04:42:15Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > There’s also “I, (Annoyed Grunt)bot.” (2004) There are a couple of others, too. I was just saying they didn’t make a clean switch between (Annoyed Grunt) and D’oh in the titles even though they’d used D’oh lately.