What IS this... thing?

[PR]

When I was in 10th grade, a friend of mine taught me this:

"It 'n it 'n little it,
oat 'n oat 'n little oat,
ishka bibbly oat 'n dote 'n
lobo skedeet 'n dat 'n
badat 'n chu."

Has anyone heard this? You're supposed to say it as fast as you can... no
"line breaks" in its spoken form. I don't know why. :)

But anyway, what the heck would you call it? It's not a rhyme, it's not a
joke, it's not really a tongue twister. It's not a poem, it's not...
anything! Just silly.

[w***@rocketmail.com]

It's a word salad. Something that would emerge from the mouth of a
schizophrenic.


W ; )

[Donna Richoux]

Post by PR
"It 'n it 'n little it,
oat 'n oat 'n little oat,
ishka bibbly oat 'n dote 'n
lobo skedeet 'n dat 'n
badat 'n chu."
Has anyone heard this? You're supposed to say it as fast as you can... no
"line breaks" in its spoken form. I don't know why. :)

I don't recognize those first two lines, but I remember the third and
fourth. My version was:

Ish kiddly oaten doten
Bo bo skideeten dotten

And then some noise for the last line, I forget what.

Was this part of some novelty song? Like "Mairsy Doats and Dozy Doats"?
But not that. Was it part of a football cheer?

Trying to search for parts, I find that someone has:

wing wang digly dang
itten bitten little ditten
ishka-bidaly oten doten
bobo skideeten dotten
va dotten chew

Aha, that leads me to more. This from a Scout Camp in Illinois (I went
to Camp Fire Girls camp myself):

http://www.sodabob.com/photos/oe/

OUTDOOR ED CAMP CHEER

VA-DOTTEN CHEW

BO-BO SKADEETEN DOTTEN
VA-DOTTEN CHEW

ISH KABIDDILY OTEN DOTEN
BO-BO SKADEETEN DOTTEN
VA-DOTTEN CHEW

ITTEN BITTEN LITTLE DITTEN
ISH KABIDDILY OTEN DOTEN
BO-BO SKADEETEN DOTTEN
VA-DOTTEN CHEW

OTEN DOTEN LITTLE DOTEN
ITTEN BITTEN LITTLE DITTEN
ISH KABIDDILY OTEN DOTEN
BO-BO SKADEETEN DOTTEN
VA-DOTTEN CHEW

Google on <dotten (chew OR chu)> and you'll get more.

Post by PR
But anyway, what the heck would you call it? It's not a rhyme, it's not a
joke, it's not really a tongue twister. It's not a poem, it's not...
anything! Just silly.

It's a chant, I suppose. Like a song, but spoken instead of sung. I like
to think that this sort of thing is a remnant of another language, but
it also could have been invented as nonsense...

[mUs1Ka]

This post might be inappropriate. Click to display it.

[Ben Zimmer]

Post by Donna Richoux

Post by PR
"It 'n it 'n little it,
oat 'n oat 'n little oat,
ishka bibbly oat 'n dote 'n
lobo skedeet 'n dat 'n
badat 'n chu."
Has anyone heard this? You're supposed to say it as fast as you can... no
"line breaks" in its spoken form. I don't know why. :)

I don't recognize those first two lines, but I remember the third and
Ish kiddly oaten doten
Bo bo skideeten dotten
And then some noise for the last line, I forget what.
Was this part of some novelty song? Like "Mairsy Doats and Dozy Doats"?
But not that. Was it part of a football cheer?

Dunno about that, but "ishka bibbly oat 'n dote 'n" incorporates a
variant of the nonsense word "ishkabibble", which was popularized
c. 1913: <http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-ish1.htm>.

[Ben Zimmer]

Post by Ben Zimmer

Post by Donna Richoux

Post by PR
"It 'n it 'n little it,
oat 'n oat 'n little oat,
ishka bibbly oat 'n dote 'n
lobo skedeet 'n dat 'n
badat 'n chu."
Has anyone heard this? You're supposed to say it as fast as you can... no
"line breaks" in its spoken form. I don't know why. :)

I don't recognize those first two lines, but I remember the third and
Ish kiddly oaten doten
Bo bo skideeten dotten
And then some noise for the last line, I forget what.
Was this part of some novelty song? Like "Mairsy Doats and Dozy Doats"?
But not that. Was it part of a football cheer?

Dunno about that, but "ishka bibbly oat 'n dote 'n" incorporates a
variant of the nonsense word "ishkabibble", which was popularized
c. 1913: <http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-ish1.htm>.

For a "negro melody" using "otten dotten" from the _Knickerbocker_
magazine of 1845, see Google Book Search:

http://books.google.com/books?q=otten-dotten

And <http://books.google.com/books?q=oaten-doaten> turns up a chant
appearing in _The Magic Journey_ by John Nichols (1978):

"Ish biddley oaten doten, sis boom bah;
boomalaka booomalaka, rah rah rah!"

This of course is highly reminiscent of the cheer in "Super Rabbit"
(Chuck Jones, 1943):

Bricka-bracka, firecracka,
Sis boom bah!
Bugs Bunny, Bugs Bunny,
Rah rah rah!

But now we're getting off course.

[Donna Richoux]

Post by Ben Zimmer

Post by Ben Zimmer
Dunno about that, but "ishka bibbly oat 'n dote 'n" incorporates a
variant of the nonsense word "ishkabibble", which was popularized
c. 1913: <http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-ish1.htm>.

For a "negro melody" using "otten dotten" from the _Knickerbocker_
http://books.google.com/books?q=otten-dotten

"Dingee I otten dotten balli' otten dotten..." You have to wonder, is
this altered English, or an altered African language?

Post by Ben Zimmer
And <http://books.google.com/books?q=oaten-doaten> turns up a chant
"Ish biddley oaten doten, sis boom bah;
boomalaka booomalaka, rah rah rah!"
This of course is highly reminiscent of the cheer in "Super Rabbit"
Bricka-bracka, firecracka,
Sis boom bah!
Bugs Bunny, Bugs Bunny,
Rah rah rah!

Now I wonder how far back "Sis boom bah" goes. M-W dates "rah" as a
cheear to 1870, and "Rah-rah" to 1911. "Rah rah rah, Sis boom bah" is
probably nearly as old. I wonder if anyone has tried to compile of
history of football cheers.

The hefty, athletic chicken in Pogo was Miz Sis Boom Bah, but Pogo was
post-WWII.

[Tony Cooper]

Post by Donna Richoux
"Dingee I otten dotten balli' otten dotten..." You have to wonder, is
this altered English, or an altered African language?

Whatever language it is, it is spoken by the person at my bank who
talks to me over those little speakers at the drive-through window.

[R H Draney]

Post by Donna Richoux

Post by Ben Zimmer
"Ish biddley oaten doten, sis boom bah;
boomalaka booomalaka, rah rah rah!"
This of course is highly reminiscent of the cheer in "Super Rabbit"
Bricka-bracka, firecracka,
Sis boom bah!
Bugs Bunny, Bugs Bunny,
Rah rah rah!

Now I wonder how far back "Sis boom bah" goes. M-W dates "rah" as a
cheear to 1870, and "Rah-rah" to 1911. "Rah rah rah, Sis boom bah" is
probably nearly as old. I wonder if anyone has tried to compile of
history of football cheers.
The hefty, athletic chicken in Pogo was Miz Sis Boom Bah, but Pogo was
post-WWII.

"Hail to the sun god,
He is a fun god,
Ra! Ra! Ra!"

....r

[j***@yahoo.com]

...

Post by R H Draney
"Hail to the sun god,
He is a fun god,

In _Illuminatus!_ it was

There is only one god
And he is the sun god

Post by R H Draney
Ra! Ra! Ra!"

[j***@yahoo.com]

Donna Richoux wrote:
...

Post by Donna Richoux
Now I wonder how far back "Sis boom bah" goes.

...

One of Kipling's short stories includes the narrator trying to buck up
a Princeton man by saying "Szz-boom-ah!" or something like that. Mike
Lyle will know.

[Ben Zimmer]

Post by j***@yahoo.com

Post by Donna Richoux
Now I wonder how far back "Sis boom bah" goes.

One of Kipling's short stories includes the narrator trying to buck up
a Princeton man by saying "Szz-boom-ah!" or something like that. Mike
Lyle will know.

'Rah for the Buckeye State. Step lively! Both gates! Szz! Boom! Aah!'
Keller was a Princeton man, and he seemed to need encouragement.
"A Matter of Fact", in _Many Inventions_ (1893)
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=u6rOiBxN4egC

Proquest has a Boston Globe article from Oct. 28, 1888 on "College
Cries". They include:

Princeton -- Rah, rah, rah; s-s-st, boom, ah-h-h!!
New York University -- Rah, rah, rah. N.Y.U.; siss, boom, ah!
University of Tennessee -- Rah, rah, rah-rah-rah; Bim, bim,
boom-boom-bah! Rah, rah, rah-rah-rah!!
University of California -- Hah, ha; Californiah! U.C. Berk-e-lee!
Zip, boom, Ah!!

And a July 5, 1885 New York Times article on Independence Day
celebrations with the Ninth Regiment mentions this regimental cheer:

"71-71-71, N.G.S.N.Y., rah-rah-rah, sis-boom-ah."

Earlier still, _Vanity Fair_ published a verse on Mar. 10, 1860 called
"The Sky-Rocket Cheer" incorporating the cheer of the Seventh Regiment:

"With his ch-h-h! boom! ah;
Fol-de-rol de riddle-diddle, ch-h-h! boom!! ah!!!"
[Making of America: <http://tinyurl.com/9lx7w>]

[Donna Richoux]

Post by Ben Zimmer

Post by j***@yahoo.com

Post by Donna Richoux
Now I wonder how far back "Sis boom bah" goes.

One of Kipling's short stories includes the narrator trying to buck up
a Princeton man by saying "Szz-boom-ah!" or something like that. Mike
Lyle will know.

'Rah for the Buckeye State. Step lively! Both gates! Szz! Boom! Aah!'
Keller was a Princeton man, and he seemed to need encouragement.
"A Matter of Fact", in _Many Inventions_ (1893)
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=u6rOiBxN4egC
Proquest has a Boston Globe article from Oct. 28, 1888 on "College
Princeton -- Rah, rah, rah; s-s-st, boom, ah-h-h!!
New York University -- Rah, rah, rah. N.Y.U.; siss, boom, ah!
University of Tennessee -- Rah, rah, rah-rah-rah; Bim, bim,
boom-boom-bah! Rah, rah, rah-rah-rah!!
University of California -- Hah, ha; Californiah! U.C. Berk-e-lee!
Zip, boom, Ah!!
And a July 5, 1885 New York Times article on Independence Day
"71-71-71, N.G.S.N.Y., rah-rah-rah, sis-boom-ah."
Earlier still, _Vanity Fair_ published a verse on Mar. 10, 1860 called
"With his ch-h-h! boom! ah;
Fol-de-rol de riddle-diddle, ch-h-h! boom!! ah!!!"
[Making of America: <http://tinyurl.com/9lx7w>]

Sky rockets! That even makes sense, as an origin -- it whistles, it
bangs, and everyone goes "Ahhh" at the sparks.

Thanks so much for looking into this. You must have searched on <boom
ah> right? The first part having so much variation.

...I found this:

http://etcweb1.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Companion/cheers.html

Cheers became a part of the Princeton student's way
of life sometime in the late 1850s or early 1860s.
The first cheer, ``Hooray, hooray, hooray! Tiger
siss-boom-ah, Princeton!'' was adapted from the
``skyrocket'' cheer of the Seventh Regiment of New
York City. Princetonians of the early 1860s
remembered fifty years later hearing the Seventh
Regiment give this cheer from their railroad coaches
at the Princeton depot on their way to Washington, a
few days after the outbreak of the Civil War. But a
member of the Class of 1860 was pretty sure that he
had heard a classmate give the rocket cheer in
Professor Schenck's chemistry class in the spring of
their senior year. ...

[snip reference to Kipling story "A Matter of Fact" (1892) which
you quote above]

[j***@yahoo.com]

Post by Donna Richoux

Post by Ben Zimmer

Post by j***@yahoo.com

Post by Donna Richoux
Now I wonder how far back "Sis boom bah" goes.

One of Kipling's short stories includes the narrator trying to buck up
a Princeton man by saying "Szz-boom-ah!" or something like that. Mike
Lyle will know.

'Rah for the Buckeye State. Step lively! Both gates! Szz! Boom! Aah!'
Keller was a Princeton man, and he seemed to need encouragement.
"A Matter of Fact", in _Many Inventions_ (1893)
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=u6rOiBxN4egC
Proquest has a Boston Globe article from Oct. 28, 1888 on "College
Princeton -- Rah, rah, rah; s-s-st, boom, ah-h-h!!
New York University -- Rah, rah, rah. N.Y.U.; siss, boom, ah!
University of Tennessee -- Rah, rah, rah-rah-rah; Bim, bim,
boom-boom-bah! Rah, rah, rah-rah-rah!!
University of California -- Hah, ha; Californiah! U.C. Berk-e-lee!
Zip, boom, Ah!!
And a July 5, 1885 New York Times article on Independence Day
"71-71-71, N.G.S.N.Y., rah-rah-rah, sis-boom-ah."
Earlier still, _Vanity Fair_ published a verse on Mar. 10, 1860 called
"With his ch-h-h! boom! ah;
Fol-de-rol de riddle-diddle, ch-h-h! boom!! ah!!!"
[Making of America: <http://tinyurl.com/9lx7w>]

Hey, maybe the answer to PR's question is "mouth music". Or
"puirt-a-beul" if you prefer.

Post by Donna Richoux
Sky rockets! That even makes sense, as an origin -- it whistles, it
bangs, and everyone goes "Ahhh" at the sparks.
Thanks so much for looking into this. You must have searched on <boom
ah> right? The first part having so much variation.
http://etcweb1.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Companion/cheers.html
Cheers became a part of the Princeton student's way
of life sometime in the late 1850s or early 1860s.
The first cheer, ``Hooray, hooray, hooray! Tiger
siss-boom-ah, Princeton!'' was adapted from the
``skyrocket'' cheer of the Seventh Regiment of New
York City. Princetonians of the early 1860s
remembered fifty years later hearing the Seventh
Regiment give this cheer from their railroad coaches
at the Princeton depot on their way to Washington, a
few days after the outbreak of the Civil War. But a
member of the Class of 1860 was pretty sure that he
had heard a classmate give the rocket cheer in
Professor Schenck's chemistry class in the spring of
their senior year. ...
[snip reference to Kipling story "A Matter of Fact" (1892) which
you quote above]

Let's have a locomotive for Ben and Donna:

Rraaaayyy, Raaayyy, Tiiigerrr, Tiigerr, Tiger sis
sis-sis-boom-boomboombah! Ben! Donna! Hurray!

[Ben Zimmer]

Post by Donna Richoux
http://etcweb1.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Companion/cheers.html
Cheers became a part of the Princeton student's way
of life sometime in the late 1850s or early 1860s.
The first cheer, ``Hooray, hooray, hooray! Tiger
siss-boom-ah, Princeton!'' was adapted from the
``skyrocket'' cheer of the Seventh Regiment of New
York City. Princetonians of the early 1860s
remembered fifty years later hearing the Seventh
Regiment give this cheer from their railroad coaches
at the Princeton depot on their way to Washington, a
few days after the outbreak of the Civil War. But a
member of the Class of 1860 was pretty sure that he
had heard a classmate give the rocket cheer in
Professor Schenck's chemistry class in the spring of
their senior year. ...

Barry Popik found a reference to the first collegiate football game,
between Princeton and Rutgers in 1869, which says that the Princetonians
were using the "rocket" cheer at the time. See:

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0107D&L=ADS-L&P=2764

[Mike Lyle]

Post by Ben Zimmer

Post by j***@yahoo.com

Post by Donna Richoux
Now I wonder how far back "Sis boom bah" goes.

One of Kipling's short stories includes the narrator trying to

buck

Post by Ben Zimmer

Post by j***@yahoo.com
up a Princeton man by saying "Szz-boom-ah!" or something like

that.

Post by Ben Zimmer

Post by j***@yahoo.com
Mike Lyle will know.

'Rah for the Buckeye State. Step lively! Both gates! Szz! Boom!
Aah!' Keller was a Princeton man, and he seemed to need
encouragement. "A Matter of Fact", in _Many Inventions_ (1893)
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=u6rOiBxN4egC
Proquest has a Boston Globe article from Oct. 28, 1888 on "College
Princeton -- Rah, rah, rah; s-s-st, boom, ah-h-h!!
New York University -- Rah, rah, rah. N.Y.U.; siss, boom, ah!
University of Tennessee -- Rah, rah, rah-rah-rah; Bim, bim,
boom-boom-bah! Rah, rah, rah-rah-rah!!
University of California -- Hah, ha; Californiah! U.C.

Berk-e-lee!

Post by Ben Zimmer
Zip, boom, Ah!!
And a July 5, 1885 New York Times article on Independence Day
celebrations with the Ninth Regiment mentions this regimental
"71-71-71, N.G.S.N.Y., rah-rah-rah, sis-boom-ah."
Earlier still, _Vanity Fair_ published a verse on Mar. 10, 1860 called
"The Sky-Rocket Cheer" incorporating the cheer of the Seventh
"With his ch-h-h! boom! ah;
Fol-de-rol de riddle-diddle, ch-h-h! boom!! ah!!!"
[Making of America: <http://tinyurl.com/9lx7w>]

That was better than Mike Lyle coulda. _A Matter of Fact_ is quite a
good story, though. I think it also has a reference to the need for
time in the production of lawns, too.

[Mike Lyle]

Mike Lyle wrote:
[...]

Post by Mike Lyle
That was better than Mike Lyle coulda. _A Matter of Fact_ is quite a
good story, though. I think it also has a reference to the need for
time in the production of lawns, too.

No, sorry: it was an eighty-year-old hedge. The lawn was elsekipple.
_Many Inventions_, btw, is a good and varied sampler of Kipling's
stories, full of all one admires and detests in his work. Only takes an
evening to read. Not rich in that characteristic form, the
original-poem-linked-to-story combination, though. One of the stories,
"One View of the Question", contains an interesting fictitious
high-class Muslim's view of the decadence of late-Victorian London
which could have been written today.

[Charles Riggs]

Post by j***@yahoo.com
Kipling's
stories

Unadulterated crap.

Charles Riggs --

[Mike Lyle]

On 22 Nov 2005 14:18:54 -0800, "Mike Lyle"

Post by j***@yahoo.com
Kipling's
stories

Unadulterated crap.
Charles Riggs --

Well, from one standpoint. From another, an almost unequalled display
of virtuosity: not a word out of place. I have my own reservations
about a lot of the work; but they're about taste, politics, and depth
of thought, not talent, skill, or imagination. I don't think you can
make your charge stick on any literary grounds.

[Charles Riggs]

On Wed, 23 Nov 2005 16:18:49 -0000, "Mike Lyle"

Post by Mike Lyle

On 22 Nov 2005 14:18:54 -0800, "Mike Lyle"

Post by j***@yahoo.com
Kipling's
stories

Unadulterated crap.
Charles Riggs --

Well, from one standpoint. From another, an almost unequalled display
of virtuosity: not a word out of place. I have my own reservations
about a lot of the work; but they're about taste, politics, and depth
of thought, not talent, skill, or imagination. I don't think you can
make your charge stick on any literary grounds.

Perhaps not, Mike, but I'm not sure I have the fortitude to play the
course, reading any more of what he wrote. After all, there is so much
I do want to read, why spend time discovering what I only might want
to read, or is that the Ignorance is Bliss theorem?

[Mike Lyle]

Post by Charles Riggs
On Wed, 23 Nov 2005 16:18:49 -0000, "Mike Lyle"

Post by Mike Lyle

On 22 Nov 2005 14:18:54 -0800, "Mike Lyle"

Post by j***@yahoo.com
Kipling's
stories

Unadulterated crap.
Charles Riggs --

Well, from one standpoint. From another, an almost unequalled

display

Post by Charles Riggs

Post by Mike Lyle
of virtuosity: not a word out of place. I have my own reservations
about a lot of the work; but they're about taste, politics, and depth
of thought, not talent, skill, or imagination. I don't think you can
make your charge stick on any literary grounds.

Perhaps not, Mike, but I'm not sure I have the fortitude to play the
course, reading any more of what he wrote. After all, there is so much
I do want to read, why spend time discovering what I only might want
to read, or is that the Ignorance is Bliss theorem?

No, of course. "Of books, and of the making of books, there is no
end." In seventy years, we can only select from the too-many. I grew
up with Kipling as with Arthur Ransome and Mark Twain, and I suspect
that Kipling may be a taste harder to acquire in later life than, I
don't know, Defoe or even Chaucer.

[John Dean]

Post by Donna Richoux

Post by Ben Zimmer

Post by Ben Zimmer
Dunno about that, but "ishka bibbly oat 'n dote 'n" incorporates a
variant of the nonsense word "ishkabibble", which was popularized
c. 1913: <http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-ish1.htm>.

For a "negro melody" using "otten dotten" from the _Knickerbocker_
http://books.google.com/books?q=otten-dotten

"Dingee I otten dotten balli' otten dotten..." You have to wonder, is
this altered English, or an altered African language?

Post by Ben Zimmer
And <http://books.google.com/books?q=oaten-doaten> turns up a chant
"Ish biddley oaten doten, sis boom bah;
boomalaka booomalaka, rah rah rah!"
This of course is highly reminiscent of the cheer in "Super Rabbit"
Bricka-bracka, firecracka,
Sis boom bah!
Bugs Bunny, Bugs Bunny,
Rah rah rah!

Now I wonder how far back "Sis boom bah" goes. M-W dates "rah" as a
cheear to 1870, and "Rah-rah" to 1911. "Rah rah rah, Sis boom bah" is
probably nearly as old. I wonder if anyone has tried to compile of
history of football cheers.

Who's the Sun God?
He's the Fun God!
All together!
Ra! Ra! Ra!

[Matthew Huntbach]

Post by Ben Zimmer
And <http://books.google.com/books?q=oaten-doaten> turns up a chant
"Ish biddley oaten doten, sis boom bah;
boomalaka booomalaka, rah rah rah!"

The "Boomalaka" is the "traditional chant" of the City and Guilds College
Union, which is part of the student union structure of Imperial College
London. See:

http://www.cgcu.net/about/resource/

Matthew Huntbach ACGI

[Donna Richoux]

Post by Matthew Huntbach

Post by Ben Zimmer
And <http://books.google.com/books?q=oaten-doaten> turns up a chant
"Ish biddley oaten doten, sis boom bah;
boomalaka booomalaka, rah rah rah!"

The "Boomalaka" is the "traditional chant" of the City and Guilds College
Union, which is part of the student union structure of Imperial College
http://www.cgcu.net/about/resource/

That word turns up all over, spelled "boomalaka" or "boomalacka." From
Louisiana, 1910:

Boomalacka, Boomalacka, Bow-wow-wow!
Chickalacka, Chickalacka, Chow-chow-chow!
Boomalacka, Chickalacka, Who Are We?
Lafayette Institute, Don't You See?
--- Cheers chanted by the "SLII Rooters" in 1910

[Cool Guy]

Post by PR
"It 'n it 'n little it,
oat 'n oat 'n little oat,
ishka bibbly oat 'n dote 'n
lobo skedeet 'n dat 'n
badat 'n chu."
Has anyone heard this?

Makes me think of <http://ualuealuealeuale.ytmnd.com/>. :)

[Pat Durkin]

Post by PR
"It 'n it 'n little it,
oat 'n oat 'n little oat,
ishka bibbly oat 'n dote 'n
lobo skedeet 'n dat 'n
badat 'n chu."
Has anyone heard this? You're supposed to say it as fast as you can... no
"line breaks" in its spoken form. I don't know why. :)
But anyway, what the heck would you call it? It's not a rhyme, it's not a
joke, it's not really a tongue twister. It's not a poem, it's not...
anything! Just silly.

Nonsense rhymes can be parts of games. This reminds me of "Three little
fishes and the mommy fishie too".
I can't recall the nonsense words, but I know that the lines end with a
very stressed "chew", to rhyme with "too".

Oh, yes. "Swim!" said the mommy fish, "Swim if you can!" and they swam
and they swam all over the dam.

Oop oop dittum duttum dottom CHEW!
Oop oop dittum duttum dottom CHEW!
repeat.
And they swam etc.

Of course, Spike did a better job. And there are definitely line breaks
to pay attention to.

[Bertel Lund Hansen]

Post by Pat Durkin

Post by PR
"It 'n it 'n little it,
oat 'n oat 'n little oat,
ishka bibbly oat 'n dote 'n
lobo skedeet 'n dat 'n
badat 'n chu."

Nonsense rhymes can be parts of games. This reminds me of "Three little
fishes and the mommy fishie too".

Me too.
'

Post by Pat Durkin
I can't recall the nonsense words, but I know that the lines end with a
very stressed "chew", to rhyme with "too".

I know two refrains (Danish I suppose, but they might work with a
small revision of the spelling:
Ouden ouden beden benadenaden chew
and
Diddleebottle diddleebottle diddleebottle dit

I know Danish kids' jingles with nonsense words, and some with a
mix of nonsense and real words.

[R H Draney]

Post by Bertel Lund Hansen
I know two refrains (Danish I suppose, but they might work with a
Ouden ouden beden benadenaden chew
and
Diddleebottle diddleebottle diddleebottle dit
I know Danish kids' jingles with nonsense words, and some with a
mix of nonsense and real words.

I'm trying to remember what language they tried to pass it off as, but in one
episode of the cartoon series "Pinky and the Brain", Brain told Pinky to use a
pseudonym that sounded like "Doctor Jiggle it a little, it'll open"....

A perfectly sensible sentence, not gibberish at all, but it's a damn silly thing
to try and say aloud....r

[j***@yahoo.com]

Post by PR
"It 'n it 'n little it,
oat 'n oat 'n little oat,
ishka bibbly oat 'n dote 'n
lobo skedeet 'n dat 'n
badat 'n chu."
Has anyone heard this? You're supposed to say it as fast as you can... no
"line breaks" in its spoken form. I don't know why. :)
But anyway, what the heck would you call it? It's not a rhyme, it's not a
joke, it's not really a tongue twister. It's not a poem, it's not...
anything! Just silly.

Maybe it could be called scat-chanting. Or maybe it's a yell.

"Give a yell! Give a yell! Give a big substantial yell!
And when we yell we yell like hell, and this is what we yell:
Alabam!
(What?)
Alabam!
(What?)
Alabam I yes I yes kitty boom-boom.

[skip some stuff that I don't remember]

Gazinny gazanny gaziny gazum
Yay Red Raider!

My sister learned that at Red Raider Camp (Russell Twp., Ohio). She
might remember all of it. You were supposed to say "this" instead of
"hell".

I heard one from a kid at Camp Deerhorn (near Rhinelander, Wisconsin)
that had "Bo-bo-ski watten botten watten botten watten botten,
Bo-bo-ski watten botten watten botten chu", which seems to be in the
same family as yours, PR.

--
Jerry Friedman does not guarantee the accuracy of anything in this post.

[PR]

Post by PR
"It 'n it 'n little it,
oat 'n oat 'n little oat,
ishka bibbly oat 'n dote 'n
lobo skedeet 'n dat 'n
badat 'n chu."

..."Bo-bo-ski watten botten watten botten watten botten,
Bo-bo-ski watten botten watten botten chu", which seems to be in the
same family as yours, PR.

The thought of folks young and old, British, American, Australian, and other
nationalities as well, all sitting in front of their computers sounding
these things out brings me a smile. :)

[Bertel Lund Hansen]

Post by PR
The thought of folks young and old, British, American, Australian, and other
nationalities as well, all sitting in front of their computers sounding
these things out brings me a smile. :)

That's usenet. Once there was a discussion in the Danish science
newsgroup about the movement of shower curtains during use of the
shower. Some wifes were quite mystified by the behaviour of their
husbands.

[Sara Lorimer]

Post by Bertel Lund Hansen

Post by PR
The thought of folks young and old, British, American, Australian, and other
nationalities as well, all sitting in front of their computers sounding
these things out brings me a smile. :)

That's usenet. Once there was a discussion in the Danish science
newsgroup about the movement of shower curtains during use of the
shower. Some wifes were quite mystified by the behaviour of their
husbands.

I've walked up to my husband, measured his head with a tape measure, and
left the room without an explanation. He later told me he just presumed
(correctly) that it had something to do with Usenet.

[R H Draney]

Post by Sara Lorimer
I've walked up to my husband, measured his head with a tape measure, and
left the room without an explanation. He later told me he just presumed
(correctly) that it had something to do with Usenet.

A few years ago I talked a group of my colleagues into getting a nice Borsalino
for one of our number...as I had brought up the idea, I was drafted to discover
the recipient's hat size, but to do so without letting him know what we were up
to....

So it came to pass that he arrived at work one day to find the rest of us
gleefully measuring each other's heads with a tape and comparing the
results...he thought nothing of it when I said "now let's see how big *your*
head is, John" and made a note of the figure for later use...he had even
forgotten the incident to the point that he wondered how we knew his size when
we later presented the hat to him....r

[PR]

Umkay, I have gotten used to the fact that Bertel says we all "skrev"
things... that's Danish for "wrote." But what the heck is this "filted"??

[R H Draney]

Post by PR
Umkay, I have gotten used to the fact that Bertel says we all "skrev"
things... that's Danish for "wrote." But what the heck is this "filted"??

Perils of Crossposting - number 37 in a series: "you encounter in-jokes without
seeing the background that leads up to them"....

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.movies.silent/msg/a932f8af8627956c

I've linked to this message from here before...somewhere out there is a message
with links to messages at each of the important points in the sequence....r

[PR]

Post by R H Draney

Post by PR
Umkay, I have gotten used to the fact that Bertel says we all "skrev"
things... that's Danish for "wrote." But what the heck is this "filted"??

Perils of Crossposting - number 37 in a series: "you encounter in-jokes without
seeing the background that leads up to them"....
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.movies.silent/msg/a932f8af8627956c
I've linked to this message from here before...somewhere out there is a message
with links to messages at each of the important points in the

sequence....r

Aha. That explains it. Sorry to have come so late into this group and missed
the explanation, many times given.

[John Seal]

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