"''¡Ay, caramba!''" (), from the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

interjection An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling or reaction. It is a diverse category, encompassing many different parts of speech, such as exclamations ''(ouch!'', ''wow!''), curse ...

s (denoting surprise or pain) and (a

minced oath A minced oath is a euphemistic expression formed by deliberately misspelling, mispronouncing, or replacing a part of a profane, blasphemous, or taboo word or phrase to reduce the original term's objectionable characteristics. An example is "gosh" ...

for ), is an exclamation used in Portuguese (''Ai, caramba!'') and

to denote surprise (usually positive).

In popular culture

The exclamation became associated with the

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

flamenco dancer and singer

La Caramba María Antonia Vallejo Fernández (9 March 1751 – 10 June 1787), also known as La Caramba, was a Spanish singer and dancer of ''tonadilla'' music. Biography María was born on 9 March 1751 to Bernardo Vallejo and María Manuela Fernández. S ...

in the 1780s. Her headdress of brightly colored ribbons became known as a ''caramba''. Nancy Cartwright

The knife-throwing villain in Tintin's adventure ''

The Broken Ear ''The Broken Ear'' (french: link=no, L'Oreille cassée, originally published in English as ''Tintin and the Broken Ear'') is the sixth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by the Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Commissioned by ...

'' (1935) exclaims "''Caramba!'' Missed again!" so often it became a catchphrase in French ("''Caramba, encore raté!''") The fictional character

Bart Simpson Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in '' The Tracey Ullman Sh ...

(voiced by

Nancy Cartwright Nancy Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American actress. She is the long-time voice of Bart Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', for which she has received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Perform ...

) popularized the phrase "''¡Ay, caramba!''" in the animated sitcom ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

''. He said it first in the 1988 short ''The Art Museum'', one of several one-minute ''Simpsons'' cartoons that ran as interstitials on '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' from April 14, 1987 to May 14, 1989 on Fox. In the episode "

Selma's Choice "Selma's Choice" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 21, 1993. In the episode, Selma decides to have a ...

", Bart, Lisa, and their Aunt Selma approach a very popular ride at

Duff Gardens Duff Beer is a brand of beer that originated as a fictional beverage on the animated series ''The Simpsons''. Beers using the Duff branding have been brewed in a number of countries, resulting in legal battles with varying results. An officia ...

. Upon seeing the exceptionally long line for the ride, Bart exclaims, "''¡Ay, caramba!''". "''¡Ay, caramba!''" were also Bart's first words when he saw his parents having sex.

References

Comedy catchphrases Spanish profanity Spanish words and phrases The Simpsons Quotations from television Quotations from animation 1988 neologisms {{Vocab-stub

In popular culture

See also

References