Antedating of "Yada Yada"

[Baker, John]

        However, it appears that Saroyan's Jim Dandy actually dates from
1941 and was republished (rewritten?) in 1947, so if the phrase appears
in the 1941 version, that would be distinctly earlier.  That's assuming,
of course, that people accept "yatata" as the same as "yada."


John Baker



-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of Baker, John
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 5:10 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Antedating of "Yada Yada"

        I believe that "Yatata Yatata Yatata" was one of the songs in
the 1947 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Allegro.  The lyrics, under the
title "Cocktail Party," seem to be at
http://www.thepeaches.com/music/composers/hammerstein/CocktailParty.htm.


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of Benjamin Zimmer
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 4:24 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Antedating of "Yada Yada"


And earlier still is "yatata yatata yatata" in William Saroyan's 1947
play "Jim
Dandy: Fat Man in a Famine", cited in _Dictionary of American Slang_ and
this Slate article: <http://www.slate.com/id/3167/>.


--Ben Zimmer

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