y
Ya Ali
(see ala)
Meanings:
• Invocation for help
Literally, "Ali is our help." -- Stanley J. Tambiah, Leveling Crowds (1996)
• Magic phrase
-- M. Gonzalez-Wippler, Complete Book of Spells, Ceremonies and Magic (1978)
Origins: Ya Ali is of Arabic origin.1 Ali is an Arabic word meaning "by the
most high." Similarly, Ali'i is a Hawaiian word meaning "chief."
Yabba-Dabba-Doo
I want some silly words, some happy words . . . And if you have
any magic words, I want them too.
-- Monalisa DeGross, Donavan's Word Jar (1998)
Meanings:
• Comic war cry
-- Steve Rivkin, The Making of a Name (2004)
• Excitement
"[G]ulping down hard on the yabba-dabba-doo rising up his throat . . ."
-- Glenn Stout, Chasing Tiger (2002)
• Hooray!
"Geppetto bolted up, clicked his heels, and shouted, 'Yabba-dabba-doo!'
(Italian for Hooray!)" -- A.J. Jacobs, Fractured Fairy Tales (1999)
• Magic words
"There's no hocus-pocus, abracadabra, or yabba-dabba-doo to being
saved." -- D.A. Carson, Sunsets (2005)
Origins: Yabba-dabba-doo is an Italian phrase.
Facts: Yabba-dabba-doo became a national catchphrase through the animated
television series The Flintstones.
This phrase has been called "English gibberish" -- that is, nonsense,
but in the English language -- by Distinguished Arts and Science Professor
Daniel C. Dennett.4
1 Migene Gonzalez-Wippler, The Complete Book of Spells, Ceremonies and Magic (1978)
2 A.J. Jacobs, Fractured Fairy Tales (1999)
Michael Mallory, Hanna-Barbera Cartoons (1998)
4 Consciousness Explained (1991)