2006-07-02 09:14:44 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
this is not a modern saying, where did it come from
2006-07-02 09:26:13 · update #1
there was a fat lady, adn she did sing... but why and when?
i know it wasn't at an opera
2006-07-02 10:22:40 · update #2
the real reason is because of a valcano that went of, wiping out nearly an intire village who had been forced to stay in town (election time), those that where able to flee by ship saw a woman on one ship that was singing a song for the victums of the valcano, she did not stop till her voice gave out with all the heat and ash...
truth is always stranger than ficton
2006-07-03 18:14:00 · update #3
It has to do with the opera and the fat lady who hold incredibly long high notes
2006-07-02 09:17:59 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
Some people claim it was a Yogi Bearism, but his saying was it "aint over till its over." The opera reference is in the same humorous genre as a Yogi Bearism, but it didn't originate with him.
Commentators do often say the phrase to remind people that it’s the final result that matters, often in a spirit of reassurance to the supporters of the losing team. It has been suggested that it was the brainchild of the San Antonio TV sports editor Dan Cook.
These comparatively recent sports’ associations disguise the fact that it is actually a rather older expression, which occurs in several forms: “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings”, “The opera isn’t over until the fat lady sings”, or “Church ain’t out ’till the fat lady sings”.
This last version appears in a 1976 booklet entitled Southern Words and Sayings. Ralph Keyes wrote a book with the title Nice Guys Finish Seventh in which he says that several informants recalled hearing the expression for decades before it suddenly became nationally known in 1978. The use of church here suggests that its origin wasn’t tied to opera, either, but to church-going.
2006-07-02 18:37:28 · answer #2 · answered by Its not me Its u 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In one of Richard Wagner's (pronounced: Vagner) operas - I think one in The Ring cycle, notabley very long; sort of an epic opera series - there is a lady who has the viking horns (I believe she is the Valkyrie, but I'm not sure) and who is often large in stature. This singer probably has the last aria in the opera series, and therefore, when she is singing her aria, then we know the opera is almost over. Look up a synopsis of Wagner's The Ring, and you'll probably figure out better how the saying came about.
2006-07-02 19:14:54 · answer #3 · answered by musikgeek 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It has to do with the opera. Usually opera singers are a little over weight. Okay, maybe a lot over weight. Opera's tend to end with a bang, so it's not over until the fat lady (or man... sounds better with lady) sings the last, final movement, hitting that final, high, crescending note to end it.
2006-07-02 09:21:21 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A lot of female opera singers are overweight. The lead woman at an opera often has a big number near the end of the performance.
2006-07-02 09:18:42 · answer #5 · answered by Ranto 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Opera singers were often large and the opera wasnt over until the fat lady (or man) sung their last note
2006-07-02 09:18:43 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It originates from Opera, where stereotypically a "fat lady" would belt out a tune to end the show.
2006-07-02 09:18:46 · answer #7 · answered by anonymous 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
former washinton bullits head coach Dick Motta coined that phrase during the 1977 NBA playoffs.
2006-07-02 09:19:38 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋