# "Doh!" or "D'oh!" Where did the apostrophe come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 14, 2004, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doh-or-doh-where-did-the-apostrophe-come-from/234263 "2004-03-14T19:24:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doh-or-doh-where-did-the-apostrophe-come-from/234263/1 "2004-03-14T19:24:04Z")
(I tried searching for this both here (with difficulty as ‘doh’ is too short) and on google but couldn’t find anything except simpsons references and news articles saying “_D’oh_ has been included (without the apostrpohe) in OED. Other phrases…”) Why is there an apostrophe in _D’oh_? I think it always used to be _Doh_ and now is invariably _D’oh_. To my ear there’s no pause in the word there, and I couldn’t find or think of anything it might be a contraction of, which were the two obvious ideas. There is an entry in the OED: > [@](#): > > ``` > 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.). > > ``` It says of the etymology that: > [@](#): > > Popularized by the American actor Dan Castellaneta who provides the voice for the character Homer Simpson in the U.S. cartoon series The Simpsons. The quotation below is his own description of its origin: > _1998 Daily Variety (Nexis) 28 Apr., The D’oh came from character actor James Finlayson’s “Do-o-o-o” in Laurel & Hardy pictures. You can tell it was intended as a euphemism for “Damn”. I just speeded it up._ > Although the word appears (in the form D’oh) in numerous publications based on The Simpsons, the scripts themselves simply specify annoyed grunt (as did the very earliest). Unofficial transcripts of the programme suggest the first spoken use was in a short episode, Punching Bag, broadcast on 27 Nov. 1988 as part of The Tracey Ullman Show. Its earliest occurrence in the full-length series was in the first episode Simpsons roasting on an Open Fire, broadcast on 17 Dec. 1989. There’s also a series of examples from a while back using “doh” so my memories and common sense aren’t made up. Does anyone know why the switch happened? ---
**Author:** ![gluteus\_maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@gluteus\_maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gluteus_maximus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doh-or-doh-where-did-the-apostrophe-come-from/234263/2 "2004-03-14T19:37:18Z")
On my keyboard, it’s on the ‘7’ key, but I have to push ‘Shift’ first. It’s probably just dialectic. The apostrophe represents a little hiccough after the ‘D’… sounds stupider that way. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbce88/32.png) [@Nobody\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody_Special)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doh-or-doh-where-did-the-apostrophe-come-from/234263/3 "2004-03-14T19:55:41Z")
I’d have to go through _The Simpsons_ Season 3 DVD comentaries to find the exact story, but as I recall, Matt Groening—the creator of the Simpsons—comments on how he put the apostrophe in because it better reflects how it is pronounced. The OED spells it withought the apostrophe (according to Matt Groening) because their etomologists found a book with an earlier use of the word without it. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody\_Special](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbce88/32.png) [@Nobody\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody_Special)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doh-or-doh-where-did-the-apostrophe-come-from/234263/4 "2004-03-14T19:57:02Z")
I’d have to go through _The Simpsons_ Season 3 DVD commentaries to find the exact story, but as I recall, Matt Groening—the creator of the Simpsons—comments on how he put the apostrophe in because it better reflects how it is pronounced. The OED spells it without the apostrophe (according to Matt Groening) because their etymologists found a book with an earlier use of the word without it. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doh-or-doh-where-did-the-apostrophe-come-from/234263/5 "2004-03-14T20:22:30Z")
I suppose that makes sense. I googled for a wav file (perhaps I should have earlier) and found one here: [http://wilstar.com/wav.htm](http://wilstar.com/wav.htm) I can’t decide if I can hear anything that needs a ', but I suppose if Matt can, that’s the final word. OTOH, I defy someone to pronounce Doh that clearly isn’t D’oh… ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doh-or-doh-where-did-the-apostrophe-come-from/234263/6 "2004-03-14T21:41:42Z")
Well, generally, Homer really seems to nail the “d” in D’oh, so I think that the apostrophy is used as sort of an accent mark, since the “d” part of the D’oh never really changes, but Homer’s drawn out the “oh” part a few times or used a different inflection on it. ---
**Author:** ![Kempis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kempis/32/19248_2.png) [@Kempis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kempis)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doh-or-doh-where-did-the-apostrophe-come-from/234263/7 "2004-03-15T01:20:52Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Well, generally, Homer really seems to nail the “d” in D’oh, so I think that the apostrophy is used as sort of an accent mark, since the “d” part of the D’oh never really changes, but Homer’s drawn out the “oh” part a few times or used a different inflection on it. I think the apostrophe is used to show it is a contraction/substitution for “damn”. -k ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doh-or-doh-where-did-the-apostrophe-come-from/234263/8 "2004-03-16T22:08:17Z")
Shows how much I know! Without giving it much thought, I always figured it was a combination/contraction of “Duh!” and “Oh!” ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doh-or-doh-where-did-the-apostrophe-come-from/234263/9 "2004-03-16T22:13:31Z")
[James Finlayson and Homer Simpson: D-o-o-o! and D’oh!](http://www.staffs.ac.uk/schools/sciences/geography/staff/harrist/sillyfolder/trivia.htm)