Boo and my boo are a terms of endearment common among African-Americans, going at least as far back as mid-90s jams like the Ghost Town DJ’s’ “My Boo.” This is part of a complete episode.
You must log in to post a comment.
Sponsored in part by:
Kids Are Asking (episode #1523) 04/11/2019: Questions from young listeners and conversations about everything from shifting slang to a bizarre cooking technique. Kids ask about how to talk about finding information... [more]
Strawberry Moon (episode #1522) 04/08/2019: We asked for your thoughts about whether cursive writing should be taught in schools — and many of you replied with a resounding "Yes!" You... [more]
Spill the Tea (episode #1521) 03/25/2019: If someone urges you to spill the tea, they probably don't want you tipping over a hot beverage. Originally, the tea here was the letter... [more]
Dirty Laundry (#episode 1520) 03/11/2019: When you had sleepovers as a child, what did you call the makeshift beds you made on the floor? In some places, you call those... [more]
Keep Your Powder Dry (episode #1519) 02/25/2019: Jacuzzi and silhouette are eponyms — that is, they derive from the names of people. An Italian immigrant to California invented the bubbly hot tub... [more]
The discussion of the word “boo” brought to mind “Slippin’ and a Slidin”, a song that was popular in the 1950s.
All of the recordings of this song that I have listened to include the phrase “ain’t gonna be your fool no more.” However, in the version recorded by Little Richard in 1956, the second iteration of this phrase sounds (at least to me) as if the word “fool” has been replaced by “boo.”
When I first heard this song (during the “oldies revival” of the 1970s), I assumed that “boo” was derived from the word “beau.” This bit of amateur etymology is in keeping with the more recent explanation provided by the Urban Dictionary.
Your recent discussion of the origins of the word “boo” brought to mind a song popular in the 1950s called “Slippin’ and a Slidin.”
All of the recordings of this song that I have listened to include the phrase “ain’t gonna be your fool no more.” However, in the version recorded by Little Richard in 1956, the second iteration of this phrase sounds (at least to me) as if the word “fool” has been replaced by “boo.”
When I first heard this song, during the “oldies revival” of the 1970s, I assumed that “boo” was derived from the word “beau.” This bit of amateur etymology is in keeping with the one provided by the Urban Dictionary, which also connects “boo” to “beau.”