oy vey
Americaninterjection
Etymology
Origin of oy vey
First recorded in 1910–15; from Yiddish oy vey “oh woe,” from oy oy 1 ( def. ) + vey “woe”; see also woe ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Camp Siegfried,” which opened on Tuesday at Second Stage Theater, in a thoughtful production directed by David Cromer, is an oy vey kind of play.
From New York Times • Nov. 15, 2022
I even shacked up with a goy – oy vey!
From The Guardian • Dec. 21, 2019
And — oy vey — there goes any illusion of authenticity.
From Washington Post • Oct. 11, 2017
Yet the work we’re shown that’s meant to illustrate their genius ends up looking — oy vey — as if it should hang on a motel wall.
From Washington Post • Oct. 11, 2017
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
