la-la

See also: Appendix:Variations of "lala"

English

Etymology 1

Sounds used to form meaningless song refrains. Of imitative origin. Compare Old English lā, a common exclamation, Greek λαλαγε (lalage, “babble”), German lallen (“to babble”). Compare also blah blah.

Adjective

la-la (not comparable)

1. Of indifferent quality; so-so. [19th century]
   • 1876, Mrs. Hibbert Ware, “The Yule Gift”, in The New Monthly Magazine, volume IX, →OCLC, page 20:

     Parker's play is only la-la; he is a low fellow, and as clownish in his manners as he is in his dress.

Verb

la-la (third-person singular simple present la-la-s, present participle la-la-ing, simple past and past participle la-la-ed)

1. (intransitive) To sing or recite the syllable la repeatedly. [Since the 20th century]
   • 1999, Samuel R. Delany, Times Square Red, Times Square Blue, New York: New York University Press, →ISBN, page 54:

     "When the Saints Go Marchin' In," and "Jesus Loves Me," Arly in Spanish, me in English, as, in her orange robe in the wheelchair, her paralyzed arm belted with white Velcro into its fiberglass brace, Mom "la-la-ed" along.

2. (transitive) To sing (a song) with la replacing the song lyrics. [Since the 20th century]
   • 1969, Philip King, I'll Get my Man: A Farce, New York: French, →OCLC, page 64:

     PETER immediately begins ‘La, la-ing’ ‘The Merry Widow’, pulls JOSEPHINE up into a dancing position and begins to waltz her clear of the screen then towards the french window

Etymology 2

Unknown. Compare la, an interjection used to introduce a statement or express emotion.

Noun

la-la (plural la-las)

1. (slang, US) Something unusually good; (occasionally) something unusually bad. [Late 19th century]
   • 1897, “A fair hypothesis”, in Michiganensian, volume 1, →OCLC:

     We all agreed he was wise, but we did want the worst way to see that girl. We were sure that she was a la-la from all Billy said.

3. (slang) A woman's genitals, especially the vagina; a sexually permissive woman. [Since the 1970s]
   • 2009 May 23, “What they did next”, in Aol.co.uk‎^[1], archived from the original on 25 December 2011:

     Thankfully, other BB starlets have gone on to find work that doesn't involve pushing their la-las together for one-handed mags.

   • 2013, Emma Rees, The Vagina: A Literary and Cultural History, New York: Bloomsbury, →ISBN, page 27:

     For a western woman’s entire life, from her first menstrual period to her death, her ‘la la’ is a moneymaking machine for the big businesses who want to cultivate her ‘lady garden’.

Synonyms

• (something unusually good): lollapalooza; see also Thesaurus:model
• (vagina): See Thesaurus:vagina

Etymology 3

From Hokkien 啦啦 (la-la), from 蜊 (lâ, “clam”).

Noun

la-la (uncountable)

1. (Singapore, Malaysia) Alternative form of la la (“clams”)

References

• “la-la, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• “la-la, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• Jonathon Green (2024) “la-la”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Anagrams

• Alla, Laal