William Lasser writes from the political science department of Clemson University to ask where the expression “ Oy, gevalt !” comes from.This is a reasonable question, because the literal meaning of the Yiddish word gevalt (or gevald, as it is sometimes spelled) does not explain the expression. Oy, gevalt !” (or just plain “ Gevalt !”) has the sense of “Oh, my God!” or “Good grief!” as uttered when something unfortunate has happened — when you have just discovered, say, that you have locked your car keys in the car, or when your dinner partner has spilled wine all over you.