How often do you say 'crikey'?

[Torsten]

Hi,

How often do you hear or use the exclamation "crikey"?

Thanks,
Torsten
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[Yankee]

.
That sounds suspiciously British...
.

[Yankee]

.
And, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, it is:
crikey


So, my answer is I don't use the word at all and I wouldn't expect to hear it in the US.
.

[Alan]

Hi Torsten,

Yes, I use it. It's a fairly mild expletive and originates from 'Christ!', which is more overt. There's another one that to me sounds more effective and that's 'cripes'. Both of course are past their sell date and are probably only used by old codgers like me. It's the sort of expression that was used in comics in the post war period when the hero of a particular comic strip wants to show a cocktail of surprise, amazement, joy and a dash of horror. Nowadays such expressions have been superseded by the ubiquitous 'Wow'. The jaw opens and this cow and dog like noise comes out of the mouth. Oh and by the way a further embellishment to 'crikey' is 'crikey o'reilly!' Who the devil O'reilly was I haven't a clue. They just don't make them like that these days.

Alan
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[Torsten]

Hi Alan,

Actually I heard the word used by a guy from Northern Ireland. He is in his forties so maybe crikey is still in use there...
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[Alan]

Then he must be O'reilly! Here's another - 'crumbs!'

Alan
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[Jamie (K)]

Most Americans heard the word "crikey" for the first time from the mouth of Steve Irwin, an Australian who had an entire show about the care and feeding of crocodiles on American TV. He was great fun to watch and listen to, but sadly he was killed in the ocean by a sting ray a year or two ago. He was relatively young, by the way, so I guess the use of "crikey" isn't just limited to old farts.