Yikes

[Audiendus]

Yikes (interjection)

An exclamation of mild fear or unpleasant surprise, often with a slightly humorous feel.

There's a swarm of bees over there - yikes!

Yikes! Someone's spotted us - we'd better get out of here quick!

It is possibly derived from yoicks, a traditional fox-hunting cry.

[Slava]

Yikes! This is an interesting one. I'd really, really like to know more about that yoicks root. As a sound to encourage hunting dogs, it's a tad wimpy for me. It's more like a duck or goose call.