Meaning:
The phrase ‘yada yada’ means that what a person is saying is either predictable or boring.
Example: When I wake up in the morning, I have a basic routine I use to get ready for the day. For example, I take a shower, eat breakfast, brush my teeth, yada yada. You know, typical morning stuff.
Example: Do you know how to bake a cake? It’s not too difficult. You crack a few eggs, mix up some ingredients in a bowl, yada yada. Just make sure to bake it for the proper time.
1 Blah blah
2. So and so forth
Origin:
This phrase has a few alternate spellings, which include ‘yatata yatata,’ ‘yadda yadda,’ and ‘yada yada.’ There is also the phrase ‘blah blah blah’ that essentially shares the same meaning. Where these words derive from, I believe, is unknown.
This saying with its current “so on and so forth” meaning looks to have appeared somewhere in the mid 1900s. For example, this is seen in the Tucson Daily Citizen from 1947, where it reads:
“What I purely love are those letters which say: ‘Buster, you are just putting words in my trap, and furthermore, yatata yataya . . .’ Because that way you know you are apt to keep eating if you can stir up even a small portion of the people.”
The earliest mention of the phrase where it is spelled as ‘yadda yadda’ comes from the Hutchinson News newspaper, where it reads:
“But we herewith dig it up again to give it a fresh approach other than the usual ‘Why hasn’t Hutchinson got a drag strip yadda, yadda, yadda.’ “
Example Sentences
- My friend Kimberly keeps insisting I eat healthier. She tells me that I’ll lose weight, have more energy, yada yada; maybe I’ll listen to her and give it a try.
Similar Examples:
- How was my day? It was full of cleaning — I vacuumed the carpet, did the laundry, mopped the tile floors, blah blah blah.
- I need the usual stuff from the store, things like bread, eggs, milk, so and so forth.
Note: The quotes you see on the page usually come from old books or newspapers. I typically try to find the oldest known appearance of a phrase, but it is possible that older citations exist and I missed them!
Anyway, for more phrases and sayings, scroll to the top and use the alphabetical menu up there. You can explore through a list of expressions and learn the meaning of hundreds of them.
