Where does the saying "whoops a daisy" come from?

The first use of "whoops-a-daisy" per se is around 1925, in a New Yorker cartoon. It's an expression of surprise or dismay, specifically upon discovering one's own error. The modern-day equivalent would be "D'oh!", I'm afraid, which is much less expressive. The term was shortened to "whoops" by 1937, and appears in that form in a letter by Ezra Pound, no less. One assumes that it was related to the expression "to whoop," as in giving "whoops of joy." That usage goes back to the early 1600s.

Where does the saying "whoops a daisy" come from?
Actually it's 'oops a daisy' which is an expression that came from the 1920's. The word 'daisy'refers to yourself and is just a slogan.eg; oops a daisy= up you get. Have you heard of this song and dance.



Hands-knees and bumps-a daisy.
Reply:Making daisy chains, when they broke!
Reply:Dates back to the time of the plaque when children used to sing ring a ring roses a pocketful of posies (daisy) which they threw to ground to ward off the evils spirits of the plaque.



When they dropped the daisies by mistake they would shout 'Whoops a daisy'......No don't believe me well I think you'll find an element of truth in my answer.



However, I'm sure there will be those who will be spot on with their answer. Though you can't blame a girl for trying can you?
Reply:just checked 'urban dictionary' but only the definitions are used and not the origin so no idea sorry
Reply:When your small child trips over you may want to distract them from the fact that they fell over by drawing their attention to something else. By pointing out a daisy or anything you can distract them!



If you distract them quickly they will forget they fell and also forget to cry!
Reply:This is what Eric Partridge says about "oops-a-daisy!" in "A Dictionary of Catch Phrases American and British":



A consolatory cliche, rather than a catch phrase, uttered as one picks up a child that has fallen: late (?mid) C19-20. A baby-talk alteration of "up-a-daisy" or "upsadaisy." See also "upsy daisy!"



And this is what he says about "upsy daisy!":



This is mentioned only because several respected scholars have urged its inclusion. But obviously it doesn't even begin to be a catch phrase.



(Would that decisions about what is and is not a catch phrase came so easily to the rest of us. See "one for the yobs," below.)



Webster's Unabridged (1934) gives "upsy daisy" as a variant of "up-a-daisy" but doesn't say where the latter came from.
Reply:maybe british
Reply:The first use of "whoops-a-daisy" per se is around 1925, in a New Yorker cartoon. It's an expression of surprise or dismay, specifically upon discovering one's own error. The modern-day equivalent would be "D'oh!", I'm afraid, which is much less expressive. The term was shortened to "whoops" by 1937, and appears in that form in a letter by Ezra Pound, no less. One assumes that it was related to the expression "to whoop," as in giving "whoops of joy." That usage goes back to the early 1600s.



Earlier usage of "whoop" as a verb ("the falconer whoops his hawks") is found in the early 1400s. To cry whoop during a hunt was to indicate that the game was dead. And whoop was very quickly associated with other phrases, such as "Whope! who!" (1450) and "Whoop diddle" (1596.) The use of "whoop" or "whup" as an exclamation of surprise or derision appears in 1568.



Whoop appears in other slang, as to whoop it up (meaning to have a riotous time, to live it up) from 1884. "Making whoopee" arose in the US around 1927. For you Brits, the term "whoopsie" is apparently a child's word for excrement. Making whoopie, making whoopsie--be careful with your phraseology, all you transatlantic couples. Things could go really wrong.
Reply:I must admit, I found a much earlier first appearance of this expression. 1711 in "Swift’s Journal to Stella", according to the link.



It is just a nonsensical expression of surprise unfortunately, how dull!



*edit* - does just copying chunks of text from a website constitute an answer? Apparantly so, it seems.