‘Uff da’: It’s Use and History

Living in Valley City, North Dakota it is a term we are all familiar with and many use it, often times without even realizing they have, almost on a daily basis. How much thought have you actually given to the term 'Uff da'? If you are like the majority of us, we don’t really give it much thought even though we use the term quite often. After doing some research we found that 'uff da' has some rich heritage, and its influence can still be heard and seen all over. This is especially true in the northern regions of the United States like North Dakota and Minnesota where there is a strong Norwegian ancestry.

It was in the 1800s that many Norwegians emigrated to the U.S. due to poor living conditions in Norway. Most of them decided to settle in the Upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest and that is commonly where 'uff da' is heard to this day in the United States. The term was originally used in Norway as a statement of sympathy, like that something is bad. For instance, if a family pet was injured by wolves someone might say, "Uff da, I am so sorry to hear that you had to put Spot down."

Once Norwegian culture found a home in the United States the term 'uff da' sort of transitioned towards being a 'power expression' that can have positive and negative meaning depending on the situation it was used in. For instance it would be common for gentlemen in the years of old to look at their buddy when out at a bar and say, "Uff da ain't that dame a looker." And later in the same conversation respond to his friend, "Uff da' that is really too bad buddy." After being told about his friends pending divorce for looking at other women at bars. 'Uff da' when first introduced in the United States was also often used as a coded way to swear or curse so that the English-speaking wouldn't understand what

was meant.

'Uff da' has managed to become a very established phrase in the

Norwegian communities it calls home. In Fergus Falls, Minnesota, there is a band called 'The Uff da Mountain Boys', there are many various Uff da stores

many of which feature Scandinavian souvenirs and expressions of Norwegian Culture. There is even a Uff da airport in Stoughton, Wisconsin, and an entire festi

val devoted to the term and the culture that comes with it called the 'Uff da' fest in Spring Grove, Minnesota.

Clearly people that find themselves to be of

Scandinavian descent love and appreciate their culture and where they come from. One way they do this is by keeping a term like 'Uff da' alive and well even

to the current day, and 'Uff da' that’s quite an accomplishment considering it first came here over two centuries ago.