Meg says that when she was growing up near Boston, Massachusetts, her dad used to entertain kids with a phrase that sounded like Ish biddly oten doten bobo ba deeten dotten wanotten shhhhh! That’s most likely adapted from a camp song from the 1950s called “Flee Fly Flo” that has lots of different versions, is also called “Flea Fly Flo,” and may have roots in scat singing. Parts of the song have shown up in other songs, such as Chubby Checker’s 1964 song “Cu Ma La Be Stay.” The 1944 movie National Barn Dance featured the song “Down Home Rag (Deeten Dotten Dooten),” which includes some similar-sounding nonsense lyrics. This is part of a complete episode.
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To slip someone a mickey means to doctor a drink and give it to an unwitting recipient. The phrase goes back to Mickey Finn of the Lone Star Saloon in Chicago, who in the late 19th century was notorious for drugging certain customers and relieving...
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