# Did the French ever actually say "Oo la la"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 8, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025 "2003-07-08T16:33:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/1 "2003-07-08T16:33:02Z")
So “Oo la la” has become the quintessential French exclamation, according to movies, commercials, etc. My problem is, I don’t see how anybody, in any language, could adopt such a stunningly stupid collection of syllables into their own vocabulary and use it in their everyday language. Did the French ever actually say “Oo la la”? ---
**Author:** ![robo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@robo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robo)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/2 "2003-07-08T16:41:31Z")
yes ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/3 "2003-07-08T16:48:26Z")
And, moreover, they still do. Okily-dokily, \*_Jpeg Jonesarino_. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/4 "2003-07-08T16:55:20Z")
And for that matter, do they eat [Boboli](http://boboli.com.au/) in Italy? ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/5 "2003-07-08T16:57:35Z")
Alright, then. Followup question: Exactly how is it generally used? Does it mean “Wow, that’s a great looking frog you’ve got there, Pierre!”? ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/6 "2003-07-08T17:07:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jpeg Jones \* > \*\*So “Oo la la” has become the quintessential French exclamation, according to movies, commercials, etc. My problem is, I don’t see how anybody, in any language, could adopt such a stunningly stupid collection of syllables into their own vocabulary and use it in their everyday language. > > Did the French ever actually say “Oo la la”? \*\* As mentioned by others, yes, it is still used. I do not see what is so stupid about the phrase. It is like the American “Wow!” I have also heard, “Ooh la la la la la la!” ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/7 "2003-07-08T17:08:27Z")
Only when they are awake ---
**Author:** ![robo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@robo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robo)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/8 "2003-07-08T17:17:47Z")
It think it means something like “Oh wonderful!”. It doesn’t sound as silly in French as in English. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/9 "2003-07-08T17:29:28Z")
Actually, it’s more like “O la la,” at least when I’ve heard it. It’s sort of “wow”-like, I guess; it’s used to express one’s reaction to something really great: the taste of chocolate, the dreamy new boy at school, the girl you ogled at the beach, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/10 "2003-07-08T17:47:18Z")
I hear it every day (nearly), so yes it is used, at least in Montreal. This morning, in fact, a man stopped me on the street and told me (in French, like the rest of the conversation) he sees me walking regularly. When I told him that I was walking four miles to my office downown, he exclaimed, “O la la”. So “wow” might be a reasonable translation, or “can you believe that” or even, in context, “how terrible!”. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/11 "2003-07-08T18:00:29Z")
I was working on a rescue squad some years back, and we were called to a one-car crash. The driver (a French-Canadian) had a fractured femur, an extremely painful injury. While applying a traction splint to the injury, a certain amount of movement is unavoidable, and each time, he would cry out “O la la la la la”. This was the first time I had heard the expression used in the real world. So, yes, it is indeed used. ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/12 "2003-07-08T19:02:12Z")
Well, Jingle-Jangle Jumblepants!! ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/13 "2003-07-08T19:03:58Z")
Also, as used by Francophones, it doesn’t sound at all stupid. I’m guessing that you’re being influenced by the stupid dialogue generally given to French characters in American TV shows. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/14 "2003-07-08T19:20:03Z")
I’ve heard native French speakers (in France) use it - as **Nametag** says, it’s more “O la la” than “Ooh”, and if you had to translate it, “wow” would be as good as anything; all-purpose interjection, comes in handy sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![benson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@benson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/benson)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/15 "2003-07-08T19:31:35Z")
It can be used in a way other than to say “Wow”. When I was in Paris I was on the metro and some woman was ticked off that people were pushing and shoving past her to get on while she was trying to get off and she said “O la la les gens!!!”. Pretty much “Geez you people!”. I was amused to find that yes, French people definitely do say it. ---
**Author:** ![gcarroll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/65b543/32.png) [@gcarroll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gcarroll)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/16 "2003-07-08T20:21:12Z")
\>\>I’m guessing that you’re being influenced by the stupid dialogue generally given to French characters in American TV shows.\<\< Contrasted to the stupid dialog generally given to everyone else on American TV? ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/17 "2003-07-08T20:46:46Z")
Well **gcarroll** , I take your point, but a lot of TV characters aren’t _supposed_ to be saying something stupid. Is that ever the case for a French character? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/18 "2003-07-08T21:53:17Z")
I’ve heard it in a few of the type of jawdropping situations where an American might say “Oh my Gaaaaaad”\* - perhaps when witnessing an accident firsthand or something like that - where one is watching a situation unfold, but is powerless to intervene. \*An Englishman, of course, would say “Goodness gracious!” ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/19 "2003-07-08T22:11:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\* > > An Englishman, of course, would say “Goodness gracious!” \*\* Or as my Suffolk grandmother used to say - “Well I’ll be jiggered!”… I dread to think what it _actually_ meant. 😉 Julie ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-french-ever-actually-say-oo-la-la/187025/20 "2003-07-08T22:19:22Z")
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