upsidaisy, int. colloq.
(ˈʌpsəˌdeɪzɪ)
Also oops-a-daisy, ups(e)y-daisy (dial. upsa daesy), ups-a-daisy, upsy daisy, etc.
[A fanciful variant of the earlier up-a-daisy.]
(See quot. 1862.) Also in extended use.
| 1862 [C. C. Robinson] Dial. Leeds 442 Upsa daesy! a common ejaculation when a child, in play, is assisted in a spring-leap from the ground. 1904 Sat. Rev. 4 June 713/2 There is little Freddy waiting..to be lifted—‘upsidaisy’—into his perambulator. 1912 J. Sandilands Western Canad. Dict. & Phrase-Bk., Ups-a-daisy, the tender words of the fond father when engaged in baby-jumping. 1934 D. L. Sayers Nine Tailors i. ii. 61 Hoops-a-daisy, over she goes! 1940 Horizon Mar. 204 Come on, sonny, that's the way! Upsy-daisy! 1948 ‘P. Quentin’ Run to Death xx. 153 ‘Upsy-daisy.’ I picked her up, swung round and dumped her in the bath-tub. 1953 C. S. Forester Hornblower & Atropos 76 ‘There baby’, said the landlady. ‘Daddy's going to play with you. Oops-a-daisy, then.’ 1967 Partridge Dict. Slang Suppl. 1277/2 Oops-a-daisy!, a c.p. [sc. catch phrase] of consolation as one picks up a child that has fallen. 1969 ‘I. Drummond’ Man with Tiny Head vii. 92 ‘Upsidaisy,’ said Jenny. ‘No time to waste.’ 1970 K. Giles Death in Church viii. 190 ‘Ooops a-daisy,’ said the gunman and the Inspector was hurled to the twelve-feet-high ceiling. 1974 N. Freeling Dressing of Diamond 173 He..smacked Colette lightly on the bottom, and said, ‘Oops-a-daisy, girl: half-time.’ 1976 South Notts Echo 16 Dec. 6/5 Only a series of oops-a-daisy mishaps, how-ever, persuaded him to slim down in time. 1984 New Yorker 13 Feb. 125/1 The Great Rudner is..given the most labyrinthine acrobatic choreography—a tortuous series of slithers, blind leaps, upsy-daisy lifts, and ass-over-heels floorwork. |
Hence ellipt. as ˈupsa (and varr.) int.
| 1922 Joyce Ulysses 491 Hoopsa! Don't fall upstairs. 1928 E. M. Forster Life to Come (1972) 141 ‘Upsa! Take care!’ ‘Upsa!’ were some drops of brandy, which Conway had spilt. |