Oy!

Jews say Oy.

Now I'm seeing that British and Australian folks say it as well.

Well, I did know that Australians say the whole Aussie Aussie Aussie oi oi oi.  That's not new to me.

But recently I noticed characters saying oy on Coronation Street (British soap opera), and now I'm hearing it on Wonderland.

Has it always been around, and I'm just noticing it now? Or is this oy/oi a new speech fad?

The British/Australian oy is different from the Jewish one.

Oy for Jews is usually said in the same way one would say Ugh, yikes, oh no, or Oh shit.

From what I've seen on Coronation Street and Wonderland, oy is used in the same way one would use hey!  Not hey as a greeting word but as a way to express shock, surprise, disapproval....

Or maybe it's kind used as an alternative to stop.  For example, if you see someone trying to steal someone else's piece of cake, maybe oy would be used. I'm not sure if it would be appropriate for more dire situations...like if you saw someone setting fire to a building.