LA-DI-DA
Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 10:35 pm
• la-di-da •
Pronunciation: lah-dee-dah • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Interjection, etc.
Meaning: An interjection that derides someone affecting superiority, showing off, who is flaunting their wealth or otherwise acting condescending or supercilious.
Notes: Most speakers stick with using today's word as a derisive interjection, especially when we see something showy: "Well, la-di-da, aren't we all dressed up for the occasion?" But, as we see in the next section, others exploit it more thoroughly.
In Play: Although today's Good Word is used by far most widely as an interjection, because it is a bit of silliness, speakers do not hesitate to use it as a noun, adjective, or verb when it pleases them: "Marvin found some la-di-da heiress in New York and left me for her!" If you feel you must write such expressions, remember to always add an apostrophe before -s (la-di-da's) and an H before other suffixes: "Malcom la-di-dahed his way through Harvard but the job on Wall Street has reduced his hat size by quite a bit."
Word History: Some of you might remember the 1940s when swell was a slang adjective meaning "great, just fine". Well, swell was originally a derogatory term that arose in the 18th century and originally referred to those members of the upper class who puff themselves up, acting superior to others. Since lard was at the time one of the main causes of human swelling, a rhyme compound, lardy-dardy, created on the model of such words as roly-poly, helter-skelter, and dilly-dally, emerged in British slang. When this word came to North America, it was soon reduced to today's Good Word.
Pronunciation: lah-dee-dah • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Interjection, etc.
Meaning: An interjection that derides someone affecting superiority, showing off, who is flaunting their wealth or otherwise acting condescending or supercilious.
Notes: Most speakers stick with using today's word as a derisive interjection, especially when we see something showy: "Well, la-di-da, aren't we all dressed up for the occasion?" But, as we see in the next section, others exploit it more thoroughly.
In Play: Although today's Good Word is used by far most widely as an interjection, because it is a bit of silliness, speakers do not hesitate to use it as a noun, adjective, or verb when it pleases them: "Marvin found some la-di-da heiress in New York and left me for her!" If you feel you must write such expressions, remember to always add an apostrophe before -s (la-di-da's) and an H before other suffixes: "Malcom la-di-dahed his way through Harvard but the job on Wall Street has reduced his hat size by quite a bit."
Word History: Some of you might remember the 1940s when swell was a slang adjective meaning "great, just fine". Well, swell was originally a derogatory term that arose in the 18th century and originally referred to those members of the upper class who puff themselves up, acting superior to others. Since lard was at the time one of the main causes of human swelling, a rhyme compound, lardy-dardy, created on the model of such words as roly-poly, helter-skelter, and dilly-dally, emerged in British slang. When this word came to North America, it was soon reduced to today's Good Word.