Ofay etymology (speculative)

[Douglas G. Wilson]

>Given that "au fait" is stressed on the second word, whereas "ofay" is
>stressed on the first syllable, does anyone have an explanation for
>that difference?

A good question.

>The general tendency of English to shift stress to the
>initial syllable in a wide variety of contexts and dialects?

Maybe. I suspect that "ofay" had second-syllable stress back when. There is
an old story (quoted in HDAS from a 1928 source) to the effect that "ofay"
< "old fay". I believe more likely "fay" < "ofay" but the existence of this
story is more consistent with second-syllable stress. HDAS also quotes a
film from 1935 in which there was second-syllable stress. Perhaps the
stress went to the first syllable when the Pig Latin story became, uh, au fait.

-- Doug Wilson