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Dear Yahoo!:
Who came up with the adage "it's never over 'til the fat lady sings"?
Ruth
London, Ontario

Dear Ruth:
It's the bottom of the ninth. The home team is down by five. Things look bad, but then again, "it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings."
The phrase, a form of self-reassurance (or denial) in the face of long odds, is usually muttered when things look grim. The adage sounds like it sprung from the mouth of a weary opera patron, but it was actually coined by a sportswriter and broadcaster named Dan Cook.

2006-09-08 02:08:04 · answer #1 · answered by MiaDiva28 6 · 1 0

"It's not over till the fat lady sings."

From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Phrases" by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996): "The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings. The outcome of any contest isn't known until the final results are in. Thus, don't make premature judgments or give up too soon. Often associated with Wagnerian opera, specifically Brunhilde's 'Fire Song,' in 'Die Walkure,' and the fact that Wagner may seem interminable to nonaficionados. Thus one's impatience would be relieved when 'the fat lady sings.' Originated in the United States in the 1970s. Bartlett's 'Familiar Quotations' attributes the coinage to San Antonio TV sports commentator Dan Cook. Ralph Graves claims in the August 1991 issue of 'Smithsonian' that it has its roots in Southern proverbial lore: 'Church ain't out till the fat lady sings. There are still other attributions, but nobody really knows who coined this popular saying."

2006-09-08 02:34:55 · answer #2 · answered by jsweit8573 6 · 0 0

i stumbled on those 2 issues for you: a million."The opera ain't over until the fat female sings. the outcomes of any contest isn't prevalent until the outstanding outcomes are in. as a effect, do no longer make untimely judgments or supply up too quickly. many times linked with Wagnerian opera, specifically Brunhilde's 'hearth song,' in 'Die Walkure,' and the actuality that Wagner could look interminable to nonaficionados. as a effect one's impatience could be relieved while 'the fat female sings.' Originated contained in the united states contained in the Seventies. Bartlett's 'time-honored Quotations' attributes the coinage to San Antonio television activities commentator Dan cook dinner. Ralph Graves claims contained in the August 1991 situation of 'Smithsonian' that it has its roots in Southern proverbial lore: 'Church ain't out until the fat female sings. There are nonetheless different attributions, yet no person rather is familiar with who coined this many times occurring asserting." 2.It ain't over 'til the fat female sings is a proverb, in fact which ability one shouldn't anticipate the outcomes of a few interest (many times a activities interest) until it has actually complete. This word in turn refers back to the impact by many that on the top of each and every opera, an aria is sung by a heavy-set female dressed like a valkyrie. A well-liked occasion of it rather is Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (aka the hoop cycle). that's a collection of four separate operas (lasting approximately 15 hours), wherein the outstanding scene consists of Brünnhilde (an fantastically great Valkyrie) making a song, and then using onto Siegfried's funeral pyre. The set collapses and the entire cycle finally ends up contained in the Rhine river, the place it started. The "fat female" is in many cases illustrated with a horned helmet, a spear, in all probability a shelter, and particular blond braids (to signify Scandinavian ancestry). desire this facilitates.

2016-09-30 11:26:44 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0 0

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.

2006-09-08 02:09:06 · answer #4 · answered by Mo 5 · 0 0

Navjot Singh Sidhu

2006-09-08 03:07:06 · answer #5 · answered by A 4 · 0 0

Winston Churchill

2006-09-08 05:04:24 · answer #6 · answered by Joe C 1 · 0 0

History recorded it and Louey Armstrong is credited with being the first person to say it before the end of one of his classic concerts in the 1950's.

2006-09-08 02:48:08 · answer #7 · answered by tysavage2001 6 · 0 0

The compere at the upwardly graduate size biased female singing contest?

2006-09-08 04:55:51 · answer #8 · answered by curiousness 2 · 0 0

Yogi Berra - Yankee's Catcher

2006-09-08 02:08:07 · answer #9 · answered by Common Cents Genius 2 · 0 0

It goes back WAY before 1978, and though it is used in sports often,its' origin is from opera.

2006-09-08 02:13:04 · answer #10 · answered by jersey girl 1 · 0 0

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