R 71 Rata-Pata-Scata-Fata Meanings: • Nonsense, gobbledygook -- Phillis Gershator, Rata-Pata-Scata-Fata: A Caribbean Story (2005) Origins: Of Caribbean origin, Rata-pata-scata-fata is "an old-time Virgin Islands way of talking nonsense -- Caribbean gobbledygook. It might be imitation Spanish, since the Islands are close to Puerto Rico, or perhaps it comes from one of the many West African languages that influenced local English Creole. At one time, there were sixteen African languages spoken in St. Thomas alone!"1 Facts: Rata pata means "leg of a rat" in Spanish. In Literature: • "What if I close my eyes and say a magic word, like rata-pata-scata-fata, three times?" -- Phillis Gershator, Rata-Pata-Scata-Fata: A Caribbean Story (2005) Rat-Atar Facts: This magic word (a palindrome) is suggested by professional magician John Mulholland. Figure 33. A palindromic magic word like rat-atar reads the same backwards. 1 Phillis Gershator, Rata-Pata-Scata-Fata: A Caribbean Story (2005)