# What does "Oh snap!" mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 26, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203 "2011-08-26T18:37:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/1 "2011-08-26T18:37:47Z")
Every once in a while someone will respond to a post with the phrase, “Oh snap!”. For example, the second message in this thread: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14185272](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14185272) What does it mean, and what was its origin? ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/2 "2011-08-26T18:46:02Z")
I’m with you. No clue at all. I’m guessing it’s like “pwned” or something; I’ve never heard anyone say it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/3 "2011-08-26T18:46:04Z")
“You did NOT just say that!” Usually carries an amused rather than confrontational connotation. Appears to have originated with Tracy Morgan on SNL. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/4 "2011-08-26T18:46:17Z")
An article with some possibilities as to the origin: [The Mysterious Origins of “Oh Snap!” - Reluctant Habits](http://www.edrants.com/the-mysterious-origins-of-oh-snap/) ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/5 "2011-08-26T18:47:33Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > An article with some possibilities as to the origin: [The Mysterious Origins of “Oh Snap!” - Reluctant Habits](http://www.edrants.com/the-mysterious-origins-of-oh-snap/) My bad: it didn’t originate with Morgan but it was popularized by him. ---
**Author:** ![ecoaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/85e7bf/32.png) [@ecoaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecoaster)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/6 "2011-08-26T18:51:03Z")
Usually used after a “diss”, e.g., “Oh snap, he said you a trifilin’ fool” It’s just a simple exclamation that can be used for a variety of purpose ( “Oh snap, I realize I forgot my keys”). ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/7 "2011-08-26T19:00:05Z")
Suranyi and Candyman74, just curious but if you are Americans, how old are you? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/8 "2011-08-26T19:05:24Z")
There’s the idea of _snap_ as in “snappy comeback,” indicating wit, style, concision. _Some_ occurrences of “oh snap” are clearly working this connotation, but I think it has been unfortunately diluted or conflated with use as a simple exclamation, where it means no more than “oh wow” or “oh shit.” ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/9 "2011-08-26T19:06:44Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > Suranyi and Candyman74, just curious but if you are Americans I’m not. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/10 "2011-08-26T19:08:55Z")
Its usage is diagrammed here: [Flowchart | Criteria for the Proper Tactical Usage of the Ph… | Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/vjornaxx/294168009/) It’s supposed to be a response to a witty or clever insult, IME. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/11 "2011-08-26T19:10:25Z")
BTW No intention to be snarky. It just always makes me curious what kind of background someone could have to not have heard of/have understanding of, words and phrases that I take for granted everyone will know. When I was a cashier years ago, I was mystified when a customer asked me some questions about a product, and after answering them I asked her “Would you like to pick it up?” she looked at me with the world’s blankest expression and repeated “pick that up?” I couldn’t be sure if she seriously did now know what the phrase meant or if she was just trying to be incredibly obnoxious so I said “would you like to…purchase the _item_?” in a cornball voice. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/12 "2011-08-26T19:12:04Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > It just always makes me curious what kind of background someone could have to not have heard of/have understanding of, words and phrases that I take for granted everyone will know. The answer is simple and universal: one that is different from yours. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/13 "2011-08-26T19:13:42Z")
…I know, that was the point of asking, people different from me are _interesting_, people the exact same as me, not so much. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/14 "2011-08-26T19:17:46Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > When I was a cashier years ago, I was mystified when a customer asked me some questions about a product, and after answering them I asked her “Would you like to pick it up?” she looked at me with the world’s blankest expression and repeated “pick that up?” I couldn’t be sure if she seriously did now know what the phrase meant or if she was just trying to be incredibly obnoxious so I said “would you like to…purchase the _item_?” in a cornball voice. For many people “picking up” a purchased item means getting it at a _later time_, or going _somewhere else_ to get it. Think of “picking up a pizza” (after a phone order), or warehouse-type stores where you pay one place and then pick up elsewhere. So I can imagine your customer was just confused about how your store worked, thinking “but I’m here now…” ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/15 "2011-08-26T19:20:52Z")
It was a grocery store though, so i can’t imagine what the ambiguity was, since she had brought the item to the checkout stand and was asking me questions to try to help her decide whether to buy it. I do believe the woman was just trying to make fun of the way I talk. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/16 "2011-08-26T19:22:02Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > …purchase the _item_?" in a cornball voice. Ok, I totally heard Hannibal Lechter faking a West Virgina drawl there. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/17 "2011-08-26T19:29:45Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > It was a grocery store though, so i can’t imagine what the ambiguity was, since she had brought the item to the checkout stand and was asking me questions to try to help her decide whether to buy it. I do believe the woman was just trying to make fun of the way I talk. To “pick it up” in any context in which an item is sitting right in front of me would, for me, mean only one thing: reaching over and lifting it up in the air. I have never heard that phrase used to mean merely “pay for it.” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/18 "2011-08-26T19:33:23Z")
It’s a latter-day equivalent or “darn” or “fudge” or “shoot.” That is, it’s a clean expletive that people sometimes use instead of saying one of George Carlin’s “7 words you can’t say on TV.” ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/19 "2011-08-26T19:34:03Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > “You did NOT just say that!” Usually carries an amused rather than confrontational connotation. This is correct. > [@Bosstone](#): > > Appears to have originated with Tracy Morgan on SNL. > > My bad: it didn’t originate with Morgan but it was popularized by him. Not only did it not originate with him, it wasn’t popularized by him either. All the kids I knew in my brief 2-year stint in New York used to say this, and that was 40 years ago. > [@ecoaster](#): > > Usually used after a “diss”, e.g., “Oh snap, he said you a trifilin’ fool” > > It’s just a simple exclamation that can be used for a variety of purpose ( “Oh snap, I realize I forgot my keys”). We would never have used it this way, but I guess, like most slang, its use may have evolved somewhat. > [@Jas09](#): > > Its usage is diagrammed here: [Flowchart | Criteria for the Proper Tactical Usage of the Ph… | Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/vjornaxx/294168009/) > > It’s supposed to be a response to a witty or clever insult, IME. Actually, it is an approving, somewhat incredulous response to a witty, clever, and unexpected insult. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203/20 "2011-08-26T19:35:50Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > It’s a latter-day equivalent or “darn” or “fudge” or “shoot.” That is, it’s a clean expletive that people sometimes use instead of saying one of George Carlin’s “7 words you can’t say on TV.” I have never heard it used this way. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-oh-snap-mean/594203.md?page=2)