Not over till the fat lady sings ... in Texas?

[Michael Quinion]

A subscriber has sent me a note which sounds like one of the more
inventive bits of folk etymological invention that have come my way
recently. But might there just be a smidgen of truth in it?

He claims the expression comes from the Texas legislature, in which
at one time (he quotes a time around WW2) an opera singer performed
at the end of each legislative session. Whenever a legislator or
lobbyist suffered a defeat, he would say, "It ain’t over until the
Fat Lady sings!", by which he would declare that his project wasn't
finally defeated until the session was adjourned.

Your comments will be most welcome ...

--
Michael Quinion
Editor, World Wide Words
E-mail: <TheEditor at worldwidewords.org>
Web: <http://www.worldwidewords.org/>