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Chiribiribi

Posted by Brian from Shawnee on April 11, 2006

In Reply to: La di dah and cherry be de be posted by Smokey Stover on April 11, 2006

: : Has anyone heard the saying "La di dah and cherry be de be"? Where, when and why did it originate?

: La di dah, very well known. Cherry be de be, never heard of it.
: "la-di-da also la-de-da Pronunciation (lä-dee-da)
: adjective, informal
: Affectedly genteel; pretentious.
: interjection.
: Used to express disdain for something viewed as pretentious.
: [Imitative of affected speech.]"
: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000.

: Or, from the Urban Dictionary: 1.la-di-dah
: That's really not as cool as you think it is.

: Person 1: Check out my new Urkel sheets!
: Person 2: Well, la-di-dah!

: WordWeb Dictionary: Adjective: lah-di-dah
: 1. Affectedly genteel
: - grandiose, hifalutin, highfalutin, highfaluting, hoity-toity, la-di-da
: See also: pretentious

: This is harder than I expected. The use of the phrase "la di dah" is as much about the speaker as it is about the spoken of. The phrase indicates, in conversation, and is intended to indicate, that the speaker, often in a snippy way, is characterizing something else as pretentious or hoity-toity. When adopted by reporters or commentators it may just refer to something that is fashion-conscious. Its conversational use strikes me as the snotty sneering at the snooty. One of the definitions above says the phrase is imitative of affected speech. No doubt that's correct, but somehow I always thought the affected speech was in French.
: CHerry be de be; that's a mystery to me. SS

There's a Spanish-language folk song (not sure of the country of origin) called Chiribiribi (not sure of the exact spelling, either). The refrain goes something like "Chiribiribi, po po pom pom" and it's popular among secondary school Spanish teachers here in the U.S. I have a feeling it may have been a minor hit during the "folk scare" of the early 1960's, because Deputy Barney Fife made a reference to the song in an episode of The Andy Griffith Show. (He sang that song during a talent-show audition because he couldn't remember the words to "A Cappella").

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