Concept of the day: pfui Teufel [de].
Variants: pfui Deibel [de], pfui Teuchsel [de]. Teufel [de], Deibel [de] and Teuchsel [de] all are synonyms for devil [en]:
From Old High German tiufal, ultimately from Latin diabolus, from Ancient Greek διάβολος (diábolos).
– Teufel
Translation in English:
ugh, yuck! expression of dislike or repugnance
Pfui [de] became phooey [en]:
expression of contempt, 1929, from Yiddish, from German pfui (attested in English from 1866); popularized by Walter Winchell. Phoo "vocalic gesture expressing contemptuous rejection" is recorded from 1640s.
– phooey
In [cs], it is used "as is", both pfui [de] which becomes fuj [cs], and the full expression:
fuj citosl. vyjadřující odpor, ošklivost, opovržení, leknutí. Fuj, styďte se! Olb. Fuj na ouřady. Šlej. Fuj do toho života, fuj do té rozkoše. Kronb. Vulg. fuj tajfl — to jsem se lekla! Herrm. Též fuj tajbl, fuj tajxl.
– fuj
Except for the spelling:
| German | Czech |
|---|---|
| pfui Teufel | fujtajfl, fuj tajfl |
| pfui Deibel | fujtajbl, fuj tajbl |
| pfui Teuchsel | fujtajxl, fujtajksl, fuj tajxl, fuj tajksl |
Best said while spitting, or at least making the spitting gesture:
“Pfui” (alternate spellings) is also a mild version of spitting. We all know how the expression is used, but probably not that it is also based on the same superstition to ward off evil. With the expression of disbelief, disdain, consternation at someone’s remark, we reject it, perhaps to subconsciously indicate that they are words we wouldn’t take in our own mouth, spitting them out. Unknowingly however, we are warding off the evil we infer in the remark.
The expression “pfui” comes from Yiddish/German. The stronger German expression, “Pfui Teufel! (devil)” makes clear the connection to the superstition about spitting, as do those who repeat “pfui” three times for emphasis.