I always just assumed it was a made-up word -“flibbertigibbet”, sort of like ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’.
But I came across flibbertigibbet twice today and given the source of where I came across it the second time, it made me think that it might be a real word. And that is not the only coincidence I want to share.
It started when I was exchanging comments with Robbie at Roberta Writes. She had written a post about a couple of her favorite songs, one of which happened to be “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music. I left a comment saying my two favorite songs from that movie are Edelweiss (which is actually sung twice – I have trouble picking which version I like better) and the Lonely Goatherd.
Anyway, this is not meant to be a post about The Sound of Music.
However, Robbie then replied that she also likes the song Maria, since she said it reminds her of herself. And that’s where things get interesting.
I thought I would reply to her with a couple of lines from the song, and I somewhat randomly chose the following:
A flibbertigibbet! A will-o’-the wisp! A clown!
You can hear the line at 1:02 in the following video, and like I said earlier, I just assumed flibbertigibbet was a nonsense word.
But then later in the day I was going back through a book I had just finished, My Reading Life, by Pat Conroy. I was looking for a certain passage, and I came across this sentence:
You’re nothing but a knave and a flibbertigibbet,” Gene said, his eyes fixed on the nurse’s reaction.
Once I saw the word in a Pat Conroy book, it gave it immediate legitimacy, so I looked it up, and here is what I found:
flibbertigibbet: a frivolous, flighty, or excessively talkative person
So there it is, a new word for my vocabulary, even though the word itself sounds a bit frivolous. And what a coincidence to come across such a frivolous word twice in one day.
And did you notice the other coincidence?
Flibbertigibbet and supercalifragilisticexpialidocious both appear in movies featuring Julie Andrews!
*image from Let’s Move Quad Cities
Great word. Makes your mouth dance!
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it gets my tongue all twisted… 🙂
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A fun post! Who knew that was a real word! 🙂 I think we mentioned our mutual love for the Sound of Music before. I always enjoyed Mary Poppins too!
There is something so beautiful about the Edleweiss song and the “Maria”song always made me laugh. I could identify with it as well! 🙂
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I don’t think there’s a bad song in The Sound of Music. Mary Poppins did not seem to stand the test of time as well…
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You are right! I love all the songs in Sound of Music!
I really liked the Feed the Birds scene in Mary Poppins and I used to snap my fingers wanting my toys to hop in the toy chest like they did for Mary Poppins!
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Yes, I wish it were that easy to clean up as well!
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I know a few flibbertigibbets, but I had never heard that word until now. I’m going to have to find a way to use that word this week. Hmm, which should I choose? (1) You are such a flibbertigibbet. Have you considered running for public office? (2) Parting is such sweet sorrow, but since you’re such a flibbertigibbet, I think I’ll get over it.
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Looks like you’ve got a couple of possibilities there 🙂 Maybe you could sneak it into your book… young adults might like the word…
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Yes! I DID notice the Julie Andrews connection, almost immediately. And, The Sound of Music will always have a special place in my heart. There’s nothing else like it. 🕊
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It’s in my top 5 musicals of all time…
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Now I am curious, what are the other 4 top musicals?
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Camelot, The Sound of Music, Hamilton, Wicked, Jersey Boys (there’s a lot of great musicals that I have yet to see, so the list could change…)
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I haven’t seen any of them except Jersey Boys and Sound of Music of course. 🙂
I been wanting to see Wicked for awhile! Did you see The Greatest Showman?
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I did not see The Greatest Showman – I assume you liked it?
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Yesss! 👏🏻
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🙂
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I would also have thought it was made up, but then again, many words are.
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I need to start making up words – perhaps one of them will catch on 🙂
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OMG that’s a real word?! I had no idea thank you for sharing this information. I will definitely be using this word in the future mostly just to throw people off lol…
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I had to keep playing that song from The Sound of Music so I knew how to pronounce it! But it is fun to say…
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I would have to agree that running into that word twice in one day is more than coincidence. It was crying out for mainstream acceptance and you did not disappoint with your post. I seem to have met a few of these flibbertigibbets in my time! Great post, Jim!
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Perhaps it will become the word of the year, but there’s so many other words to choose from this year, none of them good…
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you’ve uncovered a Julie Andrews conspiracy theory! interesting word, and twice in one day? that’s no coincidence !!)) I will try to use it in a sentence this very day, and of course, look over my shoulder for Julie and her squad.
p.s. I loved, loved that book, and am a huge Pat Conroy fan.I listened to him read it on an audio book and then sat down and read the book, and what a book.
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Julie Andrews will always be my favorite all-time female singer, great voice, and so many great songs.
And the book was phenomenal; I plan to write a separate post about it. I can’t imagine having read all the books he has read, and to then be able to describe them all in such beautiful terms. He is the best writer I have read, but he has motivated me to go back and read some classics – I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. He mentioned War and Peace as his all-time favorite – I wish he had picked something else, but I’ll give it a go… 🙂
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she has always had a lovely voice. i loved pat conroy and planned to write him a letter to tell me how much i loved his writing and that this book was so inspirational to me. soon after, he passed away. another good lesson in not putting things off…. i read war and peace a couple of summers back and i ended up enjoying myself
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That’s too bad about Pat Conroy. Did you also read his book on writing? I may have to wait until next summer to start War and Peace…
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yes, and i loved it
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ok, good to know!
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It’s a real word that describes some real people very well. It might make a great name for some blogs, too.
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I was thinking the same thing; perhaps something like The Follies and Foibles of a Flibbertigibbet…
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Great word! One person comes to mind immediately. The term “flim-flam man” also applies there. When you mention the song Maria, my first thought was West Side Story. Sound of Music Maria is a great song too.
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Yes, I had a person in mind as well… 🙂
And Maria seems to be a popular name in musicals!
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I know the word, probably because I’m old and British and our heritage and language are full of quaint little quirks like this. It is often – but not always – used of women, but I think it’s much classier than calling someone a bimbo or an airhead!
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Good to know that it is more often associated with a woman, and it does seem so much better than bimbo or airhead. You British have a way with words!
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There are websites and Twitter accounts which share funny- sounding old words which have gone out of regular use. There are loads of these words – the language has been around a while 😉
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I might have to look for those web sites- might be good for a couple more posts!
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It probably will. Google should find them for you 😊
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You’ll know if and when I found it if there is a future blog post about it… 🙂
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Looking forward to that 😊
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so am I, fingers crossed! 🙂
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haha, funny post!
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thanks, Gottfried!
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You’re welcome Jim
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I’m glad to know this is a real word. Now to fit it into conversations ,
🌟😊🌟
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yes, that’s the key. I’m sure it will catch people off guard. And be aware that Clive commented that it is usually associated with women…
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Nice one, jim. Just glad you didn’t mention Supercallygoballistic…. cheers!
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ah yes, I had forgotten about that; I wish I had thrown that in there too!
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Great post! What a meandering path you have had with this word. And I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the Goatherd song, too. I’ve used the word flibbertigibbets before but like Clive above, I think that’s the British influence. And I had to double-check my spelling! Thanks for sharing!
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thanks, glad you enjoyed it. And yes, the British have a way with the English language!
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😂😂😂
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Jim, you have added another word to my vocabulary. I have heard the song about Maria many times, but “flibbertigibbet” threw right by.
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yes, I didn’t really catch it until I decided to check out the lyrics. It’s a fun word to say…
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