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Straight Dope Classic from Cecil's storehouse of human knowledge25-Oct-1991
Dear Cecil:
What's the origin of the expression, "It ain't over till the fat lady sings"?
--Dolly G., Oakland, California
Dear Dolly:
First let's get it straight: it's "the OPERA ain't over till the fat lady
sings." Amazingly, we know exactly who originated this expression and approximately
when.
It was first used around 1976 in a column in the San Antonio News-Express by
sportswriter Dan Cook. Cook does not recall the precise date or what the column was about.
Cook, who is also a sportscaster for KENS-TV in San Antonio, repeated the line during a
broadcast in April 1978. He was trying to buck up local basketball fans who were dejected
because the San Antonio Spurs were down three games to one in the playoffs against the
Washington Bullets.
Bullets coach Dick Motta heard the broadcast and used the expression himself to caution
fans against overconfidence after his team finished off the Spurs and took on
Philadelphia. The phrase became the team's rallying cry as they went on to win the
championship. From there it entered the common pot of the language. Most newsies aspire to
nothing grander than a Pulitzer prize. But Cook can tell his grandkids he's in The
Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs.
--CECIL ADAMS
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