Is it possible that the 1910 children’s novel, The Bobbsey Twins at School, was a prescient influence on hip-hop?
“Oh, Snap! Snap!” cried Freddie. “Don’t go there!” But Snap kept on, and Freddie, afraid lest his pet dog be bitten, caught up a stone and threw it at the place.
Probably not. But “Oh snap!” and “Don’t go there!” were clearly phrases that begged to be loosened into the English language. And they both made their way into the American vernacular through hip-hop.
This article concerns “Oh snap!” — that handy phrase which accompanies a moment of consternation or a dutiful dissing. The phrase has seen more frequent use in mainstream media, and, in 2009, it is just about at the point where “My bad” was in 2004. Here again, we have two words that linger in popular culture well past their shelf life, a term that once populated the lingua franca of a minority subculture and that is now loosened from the lips of Caucasians who think they are in the know.
But where did “Oh snap!” came from? And why did it take two decades to establish itself prominently in mainstream culture?
I’ve become more than a tad obsessed with these questions, but I have developed a working theory.
Now if you’re interested in slang, you can take one of two positions. Get excited by it or get smug about it. The Indianapolis Monthly‘s Cara McDonald (writing in July 2004, no less, well after “Oh snap!” was in popular use) chose the former:
She sparkles and burbles, all oh my goshes and oh my goodnesses; when she forgets where she put her tracks and shouts, “Oh, snap!” — presumably a euphemism for “shit.”
And here’s what the linguists have to say. We are informed unhelpfully by The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English that “oh snap!” was “used as a mild oath.” But there appears to be no effort by Connie Elbe, the cited linguist who “discovered” the phrase in October 2002 and published the results as editor of UNC-CH Campus Slang, to track down its cultural references. (Elbe, incidentally, was thanked in the acknowledgments section in Tom Wolfe’s I Am Charlotte Simmons, which may explain why that novel’s campus patois is out-of-touch.)
In Alonzo Westbrook’s 2002 book, Hip Hoptionary, he identifies “Oh, snap” as either an “epiphany; to understand something, like a light turned on” or “a gesture where one literally snaps a finger after a statement to emphasize a point, like the period at the end of a sentence.”
But the first time I heard “Oh snap!” was in Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend.” (The usage is best observed in the above video at the 4:12 mark, so that one can get a sense of the timing preceding the “Oh snap!” moment.) This was in 1989. And “Oh snap!” was quickly picked up by many of the high school punkasses — including me — who were likewise amused by Markie’s deliberately awful singing.
Markie, however, was hardly the first. The earliest written trace I can find of “Oh snap!” is in William Hauck Watkins and Eric N. Franklin’s 1984 volume, Breakdance!:
I said, “Oh, snap, what’s that?” He said, “It’s the new style called breaking.” I said, “It looks like you’re going to break your body.”
Breaking did not quite survive. But “Oh snap!” certainly did. A hip-hop group by the name of Latin Empire used “Oh snap!” in a Spring 1991 interview published in Centro 3, 2. The first USENET use of the phrase was, not surprisingly, on November 7, 1997 on rec.music.hip-hop. Even a rock fan by the name of Dwayne Lutchna used the phrase in a This Week in Rock segment that appeared on MTV. “Oh snap!” was making the rounds.
But it didn’t entirely stick. At least not in the way that it has today. For a while, it looked as if the phrase would disappear into the crevices with “Hells yeah!” and “getting jiggy with it.” But then comedians like Tracy Morgan and Dave Chappelle began using “Oh snap!” in their routines. Then it became fair game for everybody. (It is now used regularly by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show.)
The big question is where Markie and his friends got the tip from. Is it possible that the phrase came from England?
From Norman Harrison’s Once a Miner (1954) — a hard depiction of Southeast English mining:
Oh, snap. All right; you’d better get yours if you want.
We see the phrase also in the 1994 film, Tom and Viv, which is interesting, considering that the film is a period piece. “Oh snap. I was in Lagos,” says Maurice Haigh-Wood.
From Peter Ackroyd’s novel, First Light (1996):
“Tell me,” he added, more comfortably, “what are you drinking?”
“Gin and it.”
“Oh snap. So am I. Isn’t it lovely?”
So we see a British usage of “Oh snap!” from four decades before that is quite similar to the American usage of “Oh snap!” in the 1980s and 1990s.
If “Oh snap!” did come across the Atlantic and make its way into the hip-hop community, one wonders how this happened. Was there some seminal moment in which “Oh snap!” was unfurled at a breakdancing showdown? A moment in which all witnessing the usage of “Oh snap!” felt compelled to remember it and cite it to their friends? Did “Oh snap!” serve as a response to “Snap out of it,” which was possibly considered a less definitive term?
These are questions that require an investigation in which it may not be possible to find the missing link. But assuming that “Oh snap!” crossed the Atlantic, the American and British forms prove that a phrase can evolve in two different nations and adopt an attitude specific to each, even when the phrase conveys the same meaning.
rumors of break dancing’s demise are greatly exaggerated.
[…] Move over William Safire: The Mysterious Origins of “Oh Snap!” […]
Everyone I know uses “Oh, snap” the way Alonzo Westbrook defines it, “like a light turned on” or a sudden realization.
As in, “Aren’t you forgetting your cars keys?”
“Oh, snap, thanks. I wouldn’t have gone far without those.”
The Bobbsey Twins series was published that early? 1910? really???
But as to the topic at hand– this is not at all how “oh, snap!” is being used these days– as a synonym for “touché,” or more colloquially,”gotcha!” My guess is that it came into use in its present form sometime after the popularization of the hand gesture involving a snap and drawing the letter Z in the air.
I remember as a kid getting together with some other kids trying to come up with a word that we could use instead of cussing. After awhile we came up with snap (which would mean shit) the idea was to cuss but not get into trouble) so if something funny or surprising happened we could say ‘oh snap!’ this was upperstate new york 1977 so the word ‘or the idea for it’ used in this way has been around for awhile. My theory is a bunch of kids came up with this brainstorm independent of each other and it got into the bloodstream of popular culture that way.It fits, and may even explain why it’s so hard to trace the origin of it’s modern usuage, because it has multiple origins.
My understanding is that a “snap” is a witty insult related to the African American verbal game known as “the dozens.” So when Person A says something particularly funny about Person B’s mother, the observers will say “oh snap!” to mark the occasion. Perhaps the word “snap” relates to the speed of the rejoinders.
Around 79′ Irvington, NY went “Oh snap” crazy afterI brought it there from the Bronx, where I was born and still hung around. We were Bronx Irish Catholic teens immitating blacks from the projects. I certainly didn’t coin the phrase, but it spread through Westchester like wildfire after that. I would have copywritten my plagerism, had I known it would be so big.
The first time I heard it was from Biz Markie too and wondered why Tracy Morgan always gets credit. I went on a mission to find the answer and this post helped out greatly! Thank you!!
[…] Edward Champion’s online article The Mysterious Origins of “Oh Snap!” he traces the phrase back 60 years to England and says oh, snap was first popularly used in America […]
[…] Then, there’s this from “The Mysterious Origins of Oh, Snap“: […]
I actually heard the phrase “oh snap” used in a classic black and white movie from the 40s. (cannot remember what the movie was called now though). i remember hearing it while watching the film and thinking- “huh, so that’s where that came from, guess it’s been around longer than i thought”.
whether it was used by the hip-hop community first i doubt soley because of that movie…but i do know that rappers tend to bring back old things- beats, rhythms, styles, and so it’s not a stretch to think they’d bring back old sayings as well.
The British example cited is clearly a reference to the card game Snap. Each player shows cards at the same time, and if there’s a match, the first one to say “snap!” gets all the cards. So the person saying “snap” just meant, “So am I.” I don’t think this is necessarily related to the current usage, which used to confuse me because I kept trying to understand where the match was…
Not to be too picky, but since we’re talking about fine points of vocabulary: let’s talk about the difference between “loosened” and “loosed.”
While collecting material based on the history of urban music in New York, I recently came across a privately printed pamphlet which was published in 1981 by a Harlem teenager named Gregory Grove. The pamphlet is titled, “Talk What You Know: a collection of Harlem street talk”, and is a compilation of slang words and their definitions. There is an entry for “Oh Snap”, meaning “Oh Wow”. I haven’t been able to find any info online about the book or the author but I thought you might find it interesting as an early in-print usage of the term.
My dad and I had an argument whether it was actually from the Disney Channel show ‘That’s So Raven’. Apparently, I was wrong as I have learned that ‘Oh snap’ goes back farther than I realized. 😀
[…] this image a few hours ago, I became curious about the origins of “oh snap!” I found this post. My favorite use of the phrase is in Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” video from 1989 […]
“Oh Snap” was already common urban slang when I was a kid in Brooklyn in the mid to late 1960s.
I was in high school in 1989, but the first time I heard the term was on Youtube a few years ago.
It comes from the card game of the same name. Use google, you’ll find it exists. Since 1880s, according to etymonline.com. In the game, you say snap! to win a card that you have a duplicate of. So it is used to say “already have”, (similar but different to “same same”) then often used for “can’t, already have”, and then for making a date, when you belatedly realise you already filled the date, “can’t, already got something on then,” which I’m sure you’ll find in plenty of tv and movies. Then people ignorant of the card game, because you kids all spend your lives on computer now (or grew up where the card game is unknown), don’t realise it implies collision/duplication, and you parrot, and so the “can’t” part is understood, but not the rest of the meaning, so now it just means “broken” because those people did at least get that part of the meaning … “snap” is the sound of a thing breaking. OK?
[…] button-looking things on it. I press one. There’s a click and the clock comes back on. Oh, snap! It’s a plug beside a sink and, oddly enough, it’s got a GFI switch in it. […]
I remember using that term in high school in 1983. Can’t remember where I heard it. Probably from a book somewhere.
“Snap” in the Beitish context quoted probably refers to a workman’s packed meal (sandwiches, etc.). Fairly common dialect term in the Midlands and North. Of course, that doesn’t explain the modern usage.
All this research into one term, yet you said break dancing didn’t survive?
Nevermind the proliferation of competitive dance shows, many of which feature and are won by, break dancers.
Or this international tournament that has been going on for 20 years:
http://www.battleoftheyear.de
Originally from an age old card game as someone above mentioned, very popular in England and her colonies. and very simple – the idea was to be the first to yell “snap” when the card from the new pile matches the revealed card on the top of the cast out pile. That person ‘won’ the card [which gave an advantage]. One could play the game with standard playing cards but purpose made sets were popular at various times.
http://www.vintagenostalgia.com.au/products/snap-card-game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Yck4k29xQ
http://www.donaygames.com/product_details.php?id=10740
I actually have a book on Snaps and it gives some history about it, plus it contains a bunch of snap jokes. Anyways, Snap has been around since at least the 1970’s.
I’m sure it was around earlier, but the first time that I first heard “my bad” in 1989.
Oh cut the crap people. It was created by Black people, used in African Americans communities for ages until white people FINALLY caught on and started using it (stealing it) because like all black slang, whites are trying to change the history of it to say that they created it . lol (Most of you wouldn’t know this because you don’t go to African American communities)
As others have said, those British examples are very clearly (at least to British ears) about people suddenly finding out that two things are actually the same. The phrase comes from a simple card game, and this would be well-understood by the people using the phrase.
I think the North American usage, to denote surprise or annoyance, is quite different.
[…] hip hop expression, OH SNAP was popularized by Tracy Morgan and there are many theories about its origins. Its meaning is mainstream now and is an expression of joy, dismay by you or another person […]
The idea that it was coined by Biz Markie or Tracy Morgan is ridiculous. As other commenters point out, it was a common slang term in New York for who knows how long. When I moved to Highland Falls, NY in 1978, it was a common expression in my high school. Mostly Irish Catholic kids and some Italians. I got a big kick out of the Biz Markie video because I had not heard the phrase since I had moved down to Georgia in ’81, so it was nostalgic for me.
True Man’s post (DECEMBER 14, 2015 AT 5:36 PM) is one of the daftest things I have ever read about the history of anything, ever, and I’ve read Erich Von Daniken. The readers referring to the fast-paced card-matching game are correct and this weird uprooted US version of the phrase ‘Oh snap’ has been confusing us Brits for over a decade now. That is all.
Really, whites stealing black slang is the daftest thing you’ve ever read? You must not be very good at reading. Because it happens everyday. There are literally millions of other examples. And Blacks are using new slang that hasn’t even made the white tracker website: The Urban Dictionary, yet. LMAO! But as soon as a rapper says it, they will steal that too. Usually, the different usage of a word is where the slang lies you moron, not the word itself (Like “Cool” for example). You can teach your kids whatever lie you want. Blacks will teach theirs the truth.
Lol! I remember my friends and I coming up with the phrase “Oh Snap”, (so we thought) ..😂 while in High School in 1990 in Compton, Ca. We had such foul mouths and were always looking for amusing ways to express ourselves… We gathered around during lunch and came up with different phrases until we all agreed “Oh Snap”, was the best. Then, by the time we graduated, everyone was using the phrase we had come up with. (So we thought) 🙌🏻
The old usage you refer to (1950s) is a complete misunderstanding. There is an old card came called “snap” which involves matching cards. When you match one, you have to be the first to yell “Snap!” Ref: http://www.bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/snap/
It is NOT an expression of surprise or “gotcha”.
Look at the movie quote you give:
“Tell me,” he added, more comfortably, “what are you drinking?”
“Gin and it.”
“Oh snap. So am I. Isn’t it lovely?”
He is using “Oh snap” like in the game, but figuratively, as in his drink matches hers. This is exactly how I learned the expression from my grandmother who grew up in the 1930s in Britain and Ireland. You say “oh, snap!” figuratively when something matches or is a coincidence, just like in the game.
Somehow everybody in the US misunderstood the expression and it has come to mean what you describe, but it’s not the original meaning. This has been driving me nuts on American TV for years.
Actually, looking at the comments above now, I see at least five people backing me up. The expression is very old and very misunderstood, apparently.
I had not seen or heard “Oh, Snap!” until recently, when Google Chrome started using it when the browser failed to function as intended. After searching the etymology of “snap” I believe that the only plausible explanation for a source of this expression – while not its current usage – appears to be the one concerning snapping one’s fingers to indicate sudden understanding or acknowledgement of something, as posted by Bill Ectric: “Everyone I know uses ‘Oh, snap’…’like a light turned on’ or a sudden realization.”
I recall how my Rhode Island friends, when I lived there decades ago, often said “Dawn breaks” when they recognized their own or another’s sudden understanding of something. As for some of the other posts, is “Oh, crap” really so offensive as to require yet another synonym?
Saw it in a 1960 maybe early 70’s movie. Cute blonde women with blonde hair in pink bikini said it.
I was almost certain a lot of those types of phrases came to be part of african american vernacular because of slavery in the early United States.
Cracker = a person who cracks the whip
Snap! = the sound a whip makes
Owned = when someone is stripped of all rights
I hope I’m wrong. Sad stuff.
Maybe True Man should read the other comments. The arrogance in him is absolutely disturbing.
Fact is, there’s a lot of slang used in the black community now that was originally used by white street hustlers, and criminals in the late 19th century. Slang, like all language- evolves and morphs into different forms.
“Oh snap” may have been used before late, but the African American usage made it “cool” and popular.
Funny how NONE of these white people were saying this stuff until Black people started using it, lol. I mean we all know white people not ONLY steal Black slang, but Black styles, music and their culture as well. Of COURSE they won’t admit it (most thieves don’t), But THIS is the very reason why ethnics should never fully believe white people. Their inability to own up to obvious truths, no matter how trivial, is more than enough reason to never trust them. They are brainwashed to think of themselves as superior to all other races. And that they are right, all the time, over any darker race. So no matter how much “proof is in the pudding”, they don’t want to taste it. They are the reason why race relations are taking so long. And I don’t care how they feel about it.
[…] sports event? Often. Mostly minor league baseball. 7. What is the last thing you said out loud? Oh, snap, which Catbird asked me about. 8. What is your favorite ice cream? Strawberry. 9. What was the last […]
If you’re really interested go to one of the other comment sections and it’s discussed there and it started in the mid-80s it took a while but it was through the music industry.
I am a white man who grew up in a largely black community in Southside Virginia. We used this widely in high school (1980-1982). Much as it used today by comedians.
Funny – Reading this in 2021 – and I’m amazed at the responses: we own that phrase, we invented it, I made it popular, etc. Not once did anyone mention RACE until a Black Person had a comment. This White Guy finds the phrase has roots and branches – like any tree. It grows. It sheds leaves. It cares not what your color is. Hate is a culture worm that thrives in dirt and dying leaves, and feeds the tree, but dies it the light.
[…] The Mysterious Origins of Oh Snap, Edward […]
God, so much of this is all so far-reaching and ill-informed.
As a few others have said, it is from the card game SNAP and it is used to indicate “same” or “me too.”
It initially confused me when I would hear Americans saying it to denote surprise as I would be thinking “whats the same? Where’s the match?”
Likewise the Google “oh snap” when there was an internal error.
Look at the last example cited in the article. The “what are you drinking?” “Gin” “oh snap, me too.” It’s not denoting surprise, it’s saying “I’m also drinking gin – snap”
It’s such a stupid term. Whenever I hear someone say it, I immediately conclude they’re a mentally deficient cretin.
Oh snap! may be from hip-hop, but “Don’t go there,” has been in use at least since I was in high school in the 1960’s.
I just watched a movie from 1934 where the were saying “snap” and didn’t know the meaning so I ended up with this article. So, obviously, the term has been used for a long time!