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De plane

Posted by Lotg (OZ) on August 14, 2004

In Reply to: De plane posted by ESC on August 14, 2004

: : From old TV show Fantasy Island where midget yells "de plane, de plane!" when new planeload of guests flies in, this phrase has become a cultural icon, with some nine thousand hits in Google. However, the expression has come to have also a metaphorical meaning. Comment? Thanks

: I don't know what the meaning was or is. I can give you some history of the phrase.

: "Dee plane, dee plane" was Tattoo's catchphrase on the U.S. television series "Fantasy Island" (1978-84). "The surreal romantic drama series starred Ricardo Montalban as Mr. Roarke, and Herve Villechaize as Tattoo, Roarke's faithful dwarf side kick." Mr. V. also starred in a 1992 Dunkin' Donuts TV commercial where he asked for "Dee plain! Dee plain! Donuts." From "The Oxford Dictionary of Catchphrases" by Anna Farkas (Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York, 2002)

Yes Dale it's become something of a standard joke and there have been modifications. One that springs to mind that I've heard in meetings is when there is about to be a discussion regarding the plan for a given job, some smart alecks have been heard to say "de plan, de plan boss?". Not particularly witty, but then that's often the calibre some have to put up with at the office.

And to answer your question in another 'thread', as ESC said, there are at least two genders, and I'm one of the 'gal' versions, as you put it.

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