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Finn is on the phone to Mildred. He can hardly concentrate on what she is saying. Listen to the programme to find out why.
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The script for this programme
(Mildred talking on the phone)
Finn: Yeah, yes... yes, Mildred, yeah I know.
(Mildred on the phone)
Finn: Yeah, I know... I know, I know.
(Mildred on the phone)
Finn: Yeah, right. Thanks, Mildred. Bye!
Feifei: Hi Finn, what did Mildred want?
Finn: I don't know, Feifei.
Feifei: But you kept saying you knew.
Finn: I know. Mildred had this ongoing dispute with her neighbour and she went on and on and on about it. It's always "my nasty neighbour blah blah blah blah blah..."
Feifei: Yes, I have to agree it's always the same thing.
Finn: And in English we use the phrase "blah blah blah" when we want to represent a boring conversation.
Feifei: Where does it come from?
Finn: Well, according to an article I read the other day, in ancient Greece, the term "bar bar bar" was used to indicate "meaningless noises".
Feifei: Oh yes! It has the same root as the word "barbarian".
Finn: That's right. And that explanation came from Geoff Nunberg, a linguist at the University of California.
Feifei: "Bar bar bar" might have evolved to what we have today...
Finn: ...Blah blah blah. And Americans might say: "yada yada yada", but it conveys the same idea of a repetitive, boring conversation.
Feifei: Yada yada yada…
Finn: Yes. And from "blah blah blah" we have the related verb "to blabber", which is used informally to mean to talk a lot in an annoying way, and it can be used for people who tend to reveal secrets because they talk too much.
Feifei: Shall we listen to some examples?
Finn: Yes. "Blah blah blah" is today's expression in The English We Speak.
- A: Can I borrow your car tonight?
- B: No. I need to go to the supermarket and then I’ve got to pick up a package… and, well, the car is not working properly, and, you know, today is a busy day for me…
- A: Johnny, I am sick and tired of you "need to do" this and you've "got to do" that and … blah blah blah. Don't give me any more excuses. You don't want to lend me your car, do you?
- Don't tell Amanda you're leaving school early to go to the cinema. She's always blabbing about other people's lives.
Feifei: Oh. I certainly don't go around blabbing.
Finn: That's good to know.
(The phone rings)
Finn: Hello... Let me pass the phone to someone who is keen to talk to you. Just a moment, please. Feifei, it's for you.
Feifei: Thanks, Finn. Hello.
(Mildred is on the phone)
Feifei: Oh, hello, Mildred!
(Mildred on the phone)
Feifei: Yes, yes, that was Finn, my best friend!
Finn: This is the beginning of a long conversation... Blah blah blah... Bye.
Feifei: Bye.
(Mildred on the phone)
Feifei: Oh, sorry, Mildred, that was not to you, but to... No, no, never mind...
(Mildred on the phone)
Feifei: I know, I know... yes, I know...
