Nyeah nyeah

Posted by Smokey Stover on October 08, 2005

In Reply to: Nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh posted by Smokey Stover on October 08, 2005

: : I would love to know the origin of the phrase:
: : nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh
: :
: : Context:
: : Said in a sing song sort of way often by children it is usually used to gloat about ones superiority in a 'I told you so' kind of way something like this -
: :
: : John: My house is bigger than yours.
: : Dave: Oh, I don't think so.
: : John: How many rooms does yours have?
: : Dave: Seven, seven rooms.
: : John: Mine has twelve - nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh...
: :
: : Some may prefer the spelling to be - nah nah nah nah nah.
: :

: In the U.S. a better spelling would be, nyeah - nyeah nyeah nyeah - nyeah. (The rhythm is long, short, short, long, long.) In the key of F, the pitches would be: C - A D C - A. I don't know the origin or age of this expression, but it seems to be pretty universal. I'm guessing it's very old. SS

I should have added that "nyeah nyeah," with or without discernible pitch, means "So there!" The OED does not appear to have either expression. SS