I walked in the door. I was on a mission to find an industrial-strength, multi-powerful, and oversized washing machine that would be able to tackle the task of cleaning a large rug, tattered with mud and crud from the paws of a canine. Henceforth and witherto, I discovered the location to wash away the problem. I walked in the door and was welcomed by the chasing and chatting of two young boys. The boy being chased stopped to face the one doing the chasing. The one doing the chasing also stopped. Only 10 yards separated these two boys. Then, the one being chased, spoke words to the chaser, and spoke them with confidence and bravado. The words, spoken in quick succession, went like this:
“Na-na na-na poo poo. Na-na na-na poo poo.”
Wow, powerful stuff.
I knew. I understood. I could feel the emotion. I knew the meaning of this statement. Although not recently, I had once uttered these exact words in my own life. Yesiree Bob, the exact words. Na-na na-na poo poo. So, I engaged in some intense and thorough research regarding this phrase. (Wiktionary, just Wiktionary. For all of my brilliant findings, see OTHER NOTES at the end of this post.) My results were a little surprising. As with these two boys, I also exclaimed “Na-na na-na poo poo.” But, my research indicated that the words were actually, “Na-na na-na boo boo.” I was a little taken back.
Have you heard someone communicate these words recently? Have you ever shared these words to another during your tenure as a person?
Amazing that this highly intelligent saying continues to survive the decades.
OTHER NOTES:
WIKTIONARY
Etymology
Apparently from the longer childish playground taunt sung to a tune particular to the taunt:
I'm better than you,
na-na, na-na, boo-boo,
stick your head in doo-doo.
Na-na and boo-boo may be imitations of sounds a baby or young toddler might make. Boo-boo may also indicate boo-boo, a minor injury which leaves a mark on a child such as a scraped knee.
Phrase
na-na na-na boo-boo
1. (North America, idiomatic, colloquial, childish, pejorative, taunt, often humorous) [c. mid 20th century?] A taunt or putdown, typically used to indicate that the speaker believes he or she has beaten the listener in a competition or is better in some other way or in a general sense; or an expression of satisfaction that the listener has received some supposedly deserved minor punishment or misfortune (a schadenfreude).
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