[Lexicog] "It ain't over til' the fat lady sings"

[Fritz Goerling]

Thanks, Margaret,

 

I believe your explanation more than the one attributing this saying to
German operas of the Richard Wagner kind ("The Ring") where the heavy
Valkyrie heroine Brunhilde sings the last song.

Expressions similar to the "fat lady" one seem to me: "man soll den Tag
nicht vor dem Abend loben" (don't praise the day before the evening has
come), "don't count your chickens before they are hatched".

How do other languages express this idea?

 

Fritz Goerling

2008/5/8 Fritz Goerling <Fritz_Goerling@ <mailto:Fritz_Goerling%40sil.org>
sil.org>:
> Recently I came across the expression "It ain't over til' the fat lady
> sings."
> I was interested in finding out where the expression comes from. Who is
the
> fat lady?
> I found different contradictory explanations about the origin (opera,
> church, sports; Southern expression).
>

Hi Fritz,

This is actually an old British saying, and not many people know its
origin. It is based on the life of Queen Victoria. Although she
survived her German husband for many years, and mourned him for a long
time, she eventually realized she was better off without him and is
reported to have sung on her deathbed. I think her son was even older
than Prince Charles when he became king, so he had to wait a long time
for her to die.

Regards

Margaret Marks

 

 

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