It seems that one of the most noticeable expressions brought to us by the new century is “Buh-BYE”, said when the speaker wants to tell someone to leave and at the same time let them know that they are a jerk, or an idiot, or whatever. I’ve seen it used here by a Mod when banning somebody, and in last Sunday’s episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, it was very prominently featured in a scene where somebody has had quite enough of Larry David’s company.
So… where did this expression come from? Was there some specific movie or TV show recently, where someone used it, and it caught on?
It comes from a Saturday Night Live skit in which David Spade plays an obnoxious male airline steward who says “Buh-BYE” to everyone as they leave the plane.
I first heard it about 9 years ago from a teen friend of mine. She was saying it to be cute, not to dismiss me. But since then, I’ve heard it used as you described.
I’d not heard it before, so I’d say 1992-1993 is about the beginning of it.
It is also on Animaniacs, the little baby that calls her mother, Lady. The one with the dog. (can’t remember her name.) I am sure SNL precedes it, but I though I would add that.
Actually “bye-bye” has been around since time immemorial. In the OP I was referring to to the specific pronunciation of “buh-bye”, nearly always used as an expression of sarcastic contempt aimed at the listener.
Mindy and Buttons was the sketch on Animaniacs. It first aired in fall of 1993 – plenty of time for the animators to have picked up on “buh-bye” from SNL.
I can’t attest to what made it popular or where it originated, but I remember hearing it on a radio “comedy” skit from the early to mid-80s called “Fun with Bill and Jane.”
It was a two-minute or so “situation” in which something humorous happened, and always ended with:
“Until next time, this is Bill. . .”
“. . . and this is Jane, saying. . . ‘buh-bye.’”
This could have been done only locally, but might have also been syndicated or something.
The supposed insincerity of flight attendants repeating “buh-bye” as people exit the plane was used by Ellen Degeneres in her stand-up act. I saw it on tv in the early 90s or late 80s. It’s almost certain it was in her club act for years prior to that. And the use of an outwardly innocuous phrase as a dismissal goes way back.
I find it hard to believe SNL originated it. They may have popularized something that was already going on.
SpoilerVirgin said: "The Total Bastard Airlines sketch, which is almost certainly the original source of the saracastic “buh-bye”, first aired on March 19th, 1993. "
I can’t find a transcript for it but I seem to remember that later in 93 David Spade did a year end “top 10 Phrases we never want to here again” and “Buh-bye” was near the top. I remember him saying something like “I know we were partly/muchly to blame for this one”, I don’t remember an outright claim of responsibility for it. Anyone with better memory or link to transcript??