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You are here: Home / Language / Where Did the Saying “Ups-a-Daisy” Come From and What Does it Mean?

Where Did the Saying “Ups-a-Daisy” Come From and What Does it Mean?

April 15, 2020 by Karen Hill

Whether it’s “Ups-a-daisy,” “Whoops-a-daisy,” or “Oops-a-daisy,” you are speaking loving nonsense, usually to a child.

“Up-a-dazy” dates back to 1711, and by 1862 it had mutated into “Up-a-daisy,” spelled the same as the flower.

The original meaning was an encouragement for a child to get up, and dazy was an endearing reference to lazy, an abbreviation of lackadaisical.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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