On television, "Ooh! Ooh!" was frequently exclaimed by Officer Gunther Toody on
Car 54 Where Are You and Arnold Horshack on
Welcome Back Kotter. In today's crossword by Jeff Wechsler, the exclamation -- or at least
half of it -- begins six phrases:
Wonka worker: OOMPALOOMPA
Plays it like Cary Grant: OOZESCHARM
Expressions of delight: OOHSANDAAHS
Butterfingers' comment: OOPSYDAISY
Comet-filled region of space: OORTCLOUD
Chinese beverage, literally 'black dragon': OOLONGTEA
But does anyone who accidentally drops something ever say "Oopsy-daisy"? I highly doubt it. He would probably just say "Oops" -- or, depending on what he dropped, maybe utter a few cursewords. "Oopsy-daisy" is commonly uttered by an adult as he picks up a child, especially a child who has just fallen. The word is a variant of "upsy-daisy," which is a variant of "ups-a-daisy," which is a variant of the 18th-century expression "up-a-daisy," which is related to "lackadaisacal," which means "lacking enthusiasm or determination" and is an extension of "lackaday," which is a variant of an old expression of regret, "alack the day." "Alack" is a combined form of "ah, lack."
According to the Universe Today website, the Oort Cloud, which is named for astronomer Jan Oort, is "a theoretical spherical cloud of predominantly icy planetesimals that is believed to surround the sun at a distance of up to two light years." It is theorized -- but has not been proved -- that this giant cloud is where comets originate:
http://www.universetoday.com/32522/oort-cloud/In
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, a 1964 novel by Welsh author Roald Dahl, the Oompa-Loompas were black pygmies from Loompaland who work in the chocolate factory. In response to excessive criticism over stereotyping, Dahl put out a new edition of the book in which the Oompa-Loompas were white-skinned and golden-haired. The look of the Oompa-Loompas changed again in movie adaptations released in 1971 (starring Gene Wilder and Peter Ostrum) and 2005 (starring Johnny Depp and Freddie Highmore).
"Juillet's season" is ETE, which is not used in English. "Stuttgart cubes" is EIS, which is not used in English. "Mimic" is APER, a word I have never seen anywhere outside of crossword puzzles. That concludes today's discussion. For our entertainment, let's all sing the songs from the 1964
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory movie. The lyrics are on the Roald Dahl Fans website:
http://www.roalddahlfans.com/dahls-work/movies/willy-wonka-and-the-chocolate-factory/movie-song-lyrics/We'll start with this one. The lyrics seem tailor-made for Cruciverb.com: "Oompa loompa doompety doo, I’ve got a perfect puzzle for you......."
