This was a phrase that I learnt from a very young age, not that my family were happy. However there is something great about saying “Daşak Ali Dayi” that cannot be explained.
I have tried for years to get to the source of the phrase. Where did it come from? who invented it? and who is ‘Ali Dayi’?
Turns out quite a few turks have an Ali Dayi so it makes finding the source of the phrase quite difficult.
If you are unaware of the phrase, here’s Urban Dictionary’s definition, although it’s not quite correct:
Dashak Ali Dayi, which literally means “Uncle Testicle Ali” in Cypriot Turkish is used to express disatisfaction over an event that has gone wrong. It is equivalent to the English “damn it!” or “like hell.”
Example: “Verdin genne mektubu yoksa?” (Did you give him / her the letter?) “Dashak Ali Dayi verdim genne mektubu, ne zaman mektubu verecem soyledim?” (Like hell, I did, when did I say I was going to give him / her it.)
Source: UrbanDictionary.com
Turns out there is a song called ‘Ali Dayi’. Not sure its the same message though:
