Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

My dad has used this term for as long as I can remember as the punchline to a dad joke that begins with someone else asking a question like "What was that?" i.e. "Maybe it was a rebazort!" As I child it always conjured images of a fuzzy aliens in my head, like the Yip-Yips on Sesame Street. He says he doesn't know where this term came from, and perhaps it just sprang from his imagination, but I've always wondered if it might have its roots in some kind of American folklore or pop culture from the mid to late 20th century. Has anyone out there ever heard this or a similar term?