Blah blah blah

(Mildred talking on the phone)

Finn:	Yeah, yes ... yes, Mildred, yeah I know.
	(Mildred on the phone)
Finn:	Yeah, I know ... I know, I know.
	(Mildred on the phone)
Finn:	Yeah, right. Thanks, Mildred. Bye!
Feifei:	Hi Finn, what did Mildred want?
Finn:	I don't know, Feifei.
Feifei:	But you kept saying you knew.
Finn:	I know. Mildred had this ongoing dispute with her neighbour and she went on and on and on about it. It's always "my nasty neighbour blah blah blah blah blah ... "
Feifei:	Yes, I have to agree it's always the same thing.
Finn:	And in English we use the phrase "blah blah blah" when we want to represent a boring conversation.
Feifei:	Where does it come from?
Finn:	Well, according to an article I read the other day, in ancient Greece, the term "bar bar bar" was used to indicate "meaningless noises".
Feifei:	Oh yes! It has the same root as the word "barbarian".
Finn:	That's right. And that explanation came from Geoff Nunberg, a linguist at the University of California.
Feifei:	"Bar bar bar" might have evolved to what we have today ...
Finn:	... Blah blah blah. And Americans might say: "yada yada yada", but it conveys the same idea of a repetitive, boring conversation.
Feifei:	Yada yada yada ...
Finn:	Yes. And from "blah blah blah" we have the related verb "to blabber", which is used informally to mean to talk a lot in an annoying way, and it can be used for people who tend to reveal secrets because they talk too much.
Feifei:	Shall we listen to some examples?
Finn:	Yes. "Blah blah blah" is today's expression in The English We Speak.

A: Can I borrow your car tonight?
B: No. I need to go to the supermarket and then I’ve got to pick up a package ... and, well, the car is not working properly, and, you know, today is a busy day for me ...
A: Johnny, I am sick and tired of you "need to do" this and you've "got to do" that and ... blah blah blah. Don't give me any more excuses. You don't want to lend me your car, do you?

Don't tell Amanda you're leaving school early to go to the cinema. She's always blabbing about other people's lives.

Feifei:	Oh. I certainly don't go around blabbing.
Finn:	That's good to know.
	(The phone rings)
Finn:	Hello ... Let me pass the phone to someone who is keen to talk to you. Just a moment, please. Feifei, it's for you.
Feifei:	Thanks, Finn. Hello.
	(Mildred is on the phone)
Feifei:	Oh, hello, Mildred!
	(Mildred on the phone)
Feifei:	Yes, yes, that was Finn, my best friend!
Finn:	This is the beginning of a long conversation ... Blah blah blah ... Bye.
Feifei:	Bye.
	(Mildred on the phone)
Feifei:	Oh, sorry, Mildred, that was not to you, but to ... No, no, never mind ...
	(Mildred on the phone)
Feifei:	I know, I know ... yes, I know ...