Zerbert is another name for making a sputtering raspberry on a child’s belly. Chris from Rockwell, Texas, wants to know whether Bill Cosby coined the word, a question that comes up at home with a three-year-old and a six-year-old and plenty of zerberting. No earlier example has turned up before Cosby’s use on The Cosby Show, but the safer answer is that he seems to have popularized it, perhaps from a family word, rather since it cannot be proved he invented it. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of ““Zerbert” Means Blowing a “Raspberry” on a Baby’s Belly”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hello, this is Chris Conway. I’m calling from Rockwell, Texas, and I’m hoping that you will be able to settle a bet between me and my husband.
He is absolutely certain that the word Zerbert was created by Bill Cosby, and I just can’t imagine that it has been around for that little amount of time.
Zerbert? And what does Zerbert mean?
Well, zerbert is that noise that you make when you sort of blow on your baby’s belly and it makes that sort of silly sound.
A raspberry.
Yes, raspberry.
Okay.
And how do you spell that, Christine?
Well, I guess the way I’ve always imagined it is Z-E-R-B-E-R-T.
And I have to ask, what’s riding on this bet?
Does one of you get to give the other zerberts or what?
No, that would be a movie.
If I lose, I’ll actually have to go see the new Terminator movie with him.
And if he loses, I think I’m going to make him rent Twilight with me.
Oh.
Oh, okay.
I think you’re likely to have a better time at the Terminator movie than he is at the Twilight movie, but okay.
That’s probably true.
And what got you all to talking about this word of all things?
We have a three-year-old and a six-year-old, so there’s lots of zerberting going on in our house.
-huh.
I’ll bet.
I have to confess, I’ve never seen a reference to Zerbert any earlier than the Cosby show.
I’ve never, I haven’t found it either.
And I used to know the Cosby canon, if you can call it such a thing, quite well, because I had whole albums of his memorized as a kid.
I had the entire Wonderfulness album memorized.
But in terms of Zerbert being, you know, the thing is, I don’t think it really exists that much outside of Cosby either.
People who know the term Zerbert almost always know that Cosby was the person that they learned it from.
Really?
Yeah, I don’t know that it’s got a life of its own.
And you can look from now until the end of time, and I don’t think you’re going to find anybody using it before Cosby.
Oh, well.
It sounds like a family word that he just made famous because he was famous.
Oh, well, that’s nice.
You know, something that they used in their own house, and then just because he talked about it on stage, other people picked it up.
Well, it’s certainly being put into good use at our house.
Oh, yeah?
Yeah.
Lots of Zerberts?
Lots of Zerberts.
Well, Christine, I wish that, I mean, it sounds like you’re going to be seeing The Terminator.
Unless we get some kind of different answer.
I mean, surely Bill Cosby listens to this show.
I mean, the man has a doctorate, right?
He has a doctorate in education.
Bill, if you’re listening, let us know.
Did you invent Zerbert?
And words do seem kind of like his thing, too.
Oh, sure.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, so, you know, maybe you could just sort of postpone your husband cashing in on the bed until Bill calls us.
Okay.
Well, thank you so much.
Okay.
Happy Zerberting.
Okay.
Thanks.
Thanks, Christine.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
Grant, do you call it Zerberting when you do that with your little son?
Yeah.
No, it’s raspberries.
Raspberries.
Yeah.
He especially likes to do it on his mama’s belly.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
It’s such a sweet thing.
This means you, Bill Cosby.
And you can always email us.
The address is words@waywordradio.org.
