bunga-bunga

[Douglas G. Wilson]

On 2/28/2011 9:16 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society<ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter<wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: bunga-bunga
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Virginia Woolf implicated:
>
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12325796
>
> BTW, when I heard the ribald joke cited by the article, some thirty-five
> years ago, I believe the operative word was something other than
> "bunga-bunga."  Maybe "ooga-booga" or something.  (But definitely not "Wagga
> Wagga," "Walla Walla," or "Boogie Woogie.")
--

I don't get out enough, so I didn't hear this one until less than 30
years ago. I think I heard it only once. The arbitrary 'foreign phrase'
might have been "bunga bunga" or something similar but I can't remember.

There is also the 'wrong hole' golf joke, which I've heard several times
with 'African' locale and "oonga-boonga" and/or similar 'foreign phrase'
which I can't exactly remember ... surely might have been "bunga bunga"
or so sometimes. On the Web I see the same joke with variations
(sometimes set in Japan, etc.): here is one which is close to what I've
generally heard although with a different 'foreign phrase':

http://forum.lelong.com.my/bbs/thread-15450-1-1.html

-- Doug Wilson

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