It ain't over till the fat lady sings
Encyclopedia
It ain't over till the fat lady sings is a colloquialism
, essentially meaning that one should not assume the outcome of some activity (e.g.: a sports game
) until it has actually finished, similar to a common proverb
. It is a perception of Grand Opera
, typically overweight sopranos, and perhaps Brünnhilde
's final aria from Götterdämmerung
.
s reporting and everyday situations to mean, "it's not over until it's over," similar to the 16th century saying "don't count your chickens before they hatch" (but with opposite connotations). Although originally the proverb was, "The carnival isn't over until the fat lady sings," its use in sports journalism has been attributed to writer/broadcaster Dan Cook
; his original line was "The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings." This occurred in April 1978, when he used the phrase after the first basketball game between the San Antonio Spurs
and the Washington Bullets (now the Washington Wizards) during the 1977–1978 National Basketball Association
playoffs, to illustrate that while the Spurs had won once, the series was not over yet.
The phrase has also been used by former Baltimore Orioles
' manager Earl Weaver
.
Fred R. Shapiro
found and published an example in The Yale Book of Quotations
which appeared in the Dallas Morning News on 10 March 1976:
In the same newspaper on 26 November 2006, Steve Blow followed up the discovery by contacting Bill Morgan
about the incident:
The imagery of Richard Wagner
's opera suite Der Ring des Nibelungen
and its last part, Götterdämmerung
, is typically the one used in depictions accompanying reference to the phrase. The "fat lady" is the valkyrie
Brünnhilde, who is traditionally presented as a very buxom lady with horned helmet
, spear
and round shield
(although Brünhilde actually wears a winged helmet). Her aria lasts almost twenty minutes and leads directly to the end of the opera, though the character Hagen has one final line, "Zurück vom Ring!", to sing after Brünnhilde's death, and there is also a substantial orchestral finale. As Götterdämmerung is about the end of the world (or at least the world of the Norse gods), in a very significant way "it is [all] over when the fat lady sings."
Colloquialism
A colloquialism is a word or phrase that is common in everyday, unconstrained conversation rather than in formal speech, academic writing, or paralinguistics. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. as an identifier...
, essentially meaning that one should not assume the outcome of some activity (e.g.: a sports game
Sports game
A sports game is a computer or video game that simulates the practice of traditional sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, athletics and extreme sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport , whilst others emphasize strategy and organization...
) until it has actually finished, similar to a common proverb
The Milkmaid and Her Pail
The Milkmaid and Her Pail is a folktale of Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 1430 about interrupted daydreams of wealth and fame. Ancient tales of this type exist in the East but Western variants are not found before the Middle Ages...
. It is a perception of Grand Opera
Grand Opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events...
, typically overweight sopranos, and perhaps Brünnhilde
Brynhildr
Brynhildr is a shieldmaiden and a valkyrie in Norse mythology, where she appears as a main character in the Völsunga saga and some Eddic poems treating the same events. Under the name Brünnhilde she appears in the Nibelungenlied and therefore also in Richard Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des...
's final aria from Götterdämmerung
Götterdämmerung
is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four operas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen...
.
Attribution
It is a common expression in sportSport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s reporting and everyday situations to mean, "it's not over until it's over," similar to the 16th century saying "don't count your chickens before they hatch" (but with opposite connotations). Although originally the proverb was, "The carnival isn't over until the fat lady sings," its use in sports journalism has been attributed to writer/broadcaster Dan Cook
Dan Cook
Daniel John Cook, Jr. was a sports writer for the San Antonio Express-News, where he worked for 51 years. He is most notable for popularizing the phrase "the opera ain't over 'til the fat lady sings." Described as a "sports icon", Cook also was a sports anchor at San Antonio television station...
; his original line was "The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings." This occurred in April 1978, when he used the phrase after the first basketball game between the San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
and the Washington Bullets (now the Washington Wizards) during the 1977–1978 National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
playoffs, to illustrate that while the Spurs had won once, the series was not over yet.
The phrase has also been used by former Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
' manager Earl Weaver
Earl Weaver
Earl Sidney Weaver is a former Major League Baseball manager. He spent his entire 17-year managerial career with the Baltimore Orioles . Weaver was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.-Playing career:After playing for Beaumont High School in St...
.
Fred R. Shapiro
Fred R. Shapiro
Fred R. Shapiro is the editor of The Yale Book of Quotations, The Oxford Dictionary of American Legal Quotations, and several other books...
found and published an example in The Yale Book of Quotations
The Yale Book of Quotations
The Yale Book of Quotations is a quotations collection that focuses on modern and American quotations and claims a high level of scholarship and reliability. Edited by Fred R. Shapiro, it was published by Yale University Press in 2006 with a foreword by Joseph Epstein, ISBN 978-0-300-10798-2...
which appeared in the Dallas Morning News on 10 March 1976:
Despite his obvious allegiance to the Red RaidersTexas Tech Red RaidersThe Texas Tech Red Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University . The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders; however, the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raiders" name. The university's athletic program fields teams in 15 varsity sports and 30 club sports...
, Texas TechTexas Tech UniversityTexas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
sports information director Ralph Carpenter was the picture of professional objectivity when the AggiesTexas A&M AggiesTexas A&M Aggies refers to the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "Aggie" is common at land-grant or "Ag" schools in many states. The teams compete in Division I of NCAA sports...
rallied for a 72–72 tie late in the SWC tournament finals. "Hey, Ralph," said Bill MorganBill MorganBill Morgan is a Canadian journalist, best known as a television producer for CBC News.Morgan immigrated to Canada from Australia in 1967. In the late 1960s, he was editor of the Brandon Sun newspaper....
, "this... is going to be a tight one after all." "Right", said Ralph, "the opera ain’t over until the fat lady sings."
In the same newspaper on 26 November 2006, Steve Blow followed up the discovery by contacting Bill Morgan
Bill Morgan
Bill Morgan is a Canadian journalist, best known as a television producer for CBC News.Morgan immigrated to Canada from Australia in 1967. In the late 1960s, he was editor of the Brandon Sun newspaper....
about the incident:
"Bill vividly remembers the comment and the uproar it caused throughout the press box. He always assumed it was coined on the spot. 'Oh, yeah, it was vintage Carpenter. He was one of the world’s funniest guys,' said Bill, a contender for that title himself."
The imagery of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's opera suite Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen is a cycle of four epic operas by the German composer Richard Wagner . The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied...
and its last part, Götterdämmerung
Götterdämmerung
is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four operas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen...
, is typically the one used in depictions accompanying reference to the phrase. The "fat lady" is the valkyrie
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decides who dies in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle , the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin...
Brünnhilde, who is traditionally presented as a very buxom lady with horned helmet
Horned helmet
European Bronze Age and Iron Age helmets with horns are known from a few depictions, and even fewer actual finds. Such helmets mounted with animal horns or replicas of them were probably used for religious ceremonial or ritual purposes.-Prehistoric Europe:...
, spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
and round shield
Shield
A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....
(although Brünhilde actually wears a winged helmet). Her aria lasts almost twenty minutes and leads directly to the end of the opera, though the character Hagen has one final line, "Zurück vom Ring!", to sing after Brünnhilde's death, and there is also a substantial orchestral finale. As Götterdämmerung is about the end of the world (or at least the world of the Norse gods), in a very significant way "it is [all] over when the fat lady sings."
See also
- A rolling stone gathers no mossA rolling stone gathers no mossA rolling stone gathers no moss is an old proverb, credited to Publius Syrus, who in his Sententiae states, People who are always moving, with no roots in one place, avoid responsibilities and cares. As such, the proverb is often interpreted as referring to figurative nomads who avoid taking on...
- Chien de Jean de NivelleChien de Jean de NivelleChien de Jean de Nivelle is an animal or a man who does not want to obey when called, as in the expression Here comes the dog of Jean de Nivelle, it flees when it is called. The origins of the expression are unknown...
- Fortune favours the boldFortune favours the boldFortune favors the bold, Fortune favors the brave, Fortune helps the brave, and Fortune favors the strong are common translations of the Latin proverb "Fortes fortuna adiuvat" .- Origins :...
- The Milkmaid and Her PailThe Milkmaid and Her PailThe Milkmaid and Her Pail is a folktale of Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 1430 about interrupted daydreams of wealth and fame. Ancient tales of this type exist in the East but Western variants are not found before the Middle Ages...
("don't count your chicken's till they've hatched") - Yogi Berra ("it ain't over till it's over")