Where’d we get the expression “You bet your sweet bippy!”? It’s from Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, a zany television show from the late 1960s. The word bippy, by the way, means “butt.” The phrase “You bet your sweet bippy” is a linguistic descendant of earlier versions that go back to at least the 1880s, when phrases like “You bet your sweet life” were commonly used. The show also popularized such phrases as “Sock it to me!” and “Look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Bippy”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hello, this is Zeta, and I’m calling from Spokane, Washington.
Hello, Zeta. Welcome to the program.
Hi.
Thank you.
What can we help you with today?
Well, I have this phrase that I’ve been using probably off and on for probably 40 years, and it’s used to emphasize a point. And I used it the other day, and then all of a sudden I thought, I’m not sure what it means. So I decided I’d call you folks.
Okay.
That makes sense.
The phrase is sweet bippy.
Sweet bippy.
Mm—
Now, Zeta, how would you use that in a sentence?
Well, usually it’s to emphasize, like I said, to emphasize a point. So it’s something to the effect of, you bet your sweet bippy I can do that.
-huh.
-huh.
And you have no idea where it comes from.
I don’t have a clue.
Did you ever watch television in the late 60s?
Yeah.
Martha and I are giving each other the I here. We know exactly what the other one is thinking.
You bet your sweet Bippy we do.
Did you ever watch Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In with Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin and Ruth Buzzy?
No.
No.
It was this crazy variety show with all this psychedelic set dress.
Okay, very good.
Yeah, but no, I didn’t watch it.
Oh, yeah, that was a catchphrase on there.
You bet your sweet bippy.
Oh, is that right?
Yes, yes.
Okay, so that’s where it started.
Yes.
Does it have any meaning?
I mean, what’s a bippy?
That’s all of a sudden what I got to thinking about.
Holy cow.
And why is it sweet?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Martha, I’m looking at you.
Are you looking at my bippy?
No, I can’t see it.
It’s under the table.
Does that help, Zeta?
It’s basically a way of you bet your bottom.
Yeah.
All right.
Bet your sweet backside.
Bet your derriere, your rear.
Okay.
And, you know, it’s actually kind of the grandchild of some much older versions of betting things. As early as the 1880s, maybe even earlier, people would talk about you bet your life or you bet. Or this is from a gambling period. Is when we were gamblers and gambling was part of our culture. And we have so many words in English that come from gambling. And this is one of those expressions.
Okay.
Yeah.
You bet your sweet life was an older version of it, right?
Yes.
Or you betcha.
Yes.
And it’s funny about Rowan and Martin’s laughing. I mean, I used to love that show. I just, because part of the reason was that they played with language so much. They also said, you bet your nurdle. N-U-R-D-L-E. And then they had the Farkle family. Grant, do you remember the Farkle family? Did your family Frank Farkle and Fanny Farkle? No. And their children Gar and Far Farkle? And their neighbor Ferd Burfel? You don’t remember all this?
I never remember.
No.
Simon and Gar Farkle? You don’t remember them?
Well, you can bet your sweet life I’ll be looking that up on YouTube.
Right on.
Well, Zeta, now you know what your bippy is.
I do know what my bippy is.
It’s your bum.
Yes, yes.
Go look it up.
All right.
Thanks, Zeta.
Thank you very much.
Take care of yourself.
Bye-bye.
Bye.
Bye-bye.
It’s crazy how a show that’s that old can still have a catchphrase that works.
Oh, yeah.
Well, what about Socket to Me? Remember that?
Yeah.
Was it really used?
Oh, yes.
Yes.
And then they would throw the water, a bucket of water.
I was just a child then.
Yeah, right.
You were just a gleam in somebody’s eye, right?
Oh, that was such a cultural phenomenon in those days.
What’s the phrase from television that stuck with you all these years?
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