# Origin of the phrase: "Oh it's on" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 23, 2016, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-oh-its-on/746878 "2016-02-23T14:38:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-oh-its-on/746878/1 "2016-02-23T14:38:29Z")
I know there is a World of Warcraft quest with that as the title. I know there is the phrase “it’s on like Donkey Kong” but that seems to be an extension of “Oh it’s on” rather than the origin. My Google Fu has failed me on this one. Does anybody know, does it perhaps have no specific origin, or is it simply lost to the sands of time? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-oh-its-on/746878/2 "2016-02-23T15:26:36Z")
Lost in the mists of time, I would say. Probably originally from “it’s on the schedule” or somesuch, saying that something is on is pretty common. “Our camping trip is on for this weekend”, “Are we on for dinner tomorrow night?”, “He insulted her and the fight was on!”, etc., that last one being directly related to the meaning you asked about (IIUC). ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-oh-its-on/746878/3 "2016-02-23T19:07:54Z")
At a minimum “it’s on” goes back to 1993 when there were two well-known rap songs by that title. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-oh-its-on/746878/4 "2016-02-23T22:06:37Z")
Or 1973 Marvin Gaye “Let’s get it on” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-oh-its-on/746878/5 "2016-02-23T22:13:05Z")
The earliest I recall seeing it was the South Park episode that parodied “You Got Served”. ---
**Author:** ![Abner\_Ravenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Abner\_Ravenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abner_Ravenwood)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-oh-its-on/746878/6 "2016-02-24T04:33:59Z")
I remember hearing “It’s on like a neckbone” from back in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-oh-its-on/746878/7 "2016-02-24T04:51:15Z")
“It’s on!”, initially meaning a fight or other confrontation has started or is about to start, and later extended to other encounters, has been current in Australian slang since at least the early 1950s. There’s a well-known anti-war protest song from the early 1960s for which this phrase is the title. I think the phrase mostly refers to expected events, or events about which there has been some tension or suspense. The circumstances are such that the protagonists and/or observers know there is likely to be a fight, a sexual encounter, or whatever, and they are simply waiting for someone to make the first move. When someone does, it’s on. ---
**Author:** ![CrusticeIsServed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@CrusticeIsServed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrusticeIsServed)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-oh-its-on/746878/8 "2016-02-24T04:53:27Z")
> [@Abner\_Ravenwood](#): > > I remember hearing “It’s on like a neckbone” from back in the 80s. I would love to know what this means ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-oh-its-on/746878/9 "2016-02-24T05:23:07Z")
> [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > I know there is a World of Warcraft quest with that as the title. I know there is the phrase “it’s on like Donkey Kong” but that seems to be an extension of “Oh it’s on” rather than the origin. My Google Fu has failed me on this one. Does anybody know, does it perhaps have no specific origin, or is it simply lost to the sands of time? And by the way that’s “It’s on like Donkey Kong and Robotron!” ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-oh-its-on/746878/10 "2016-02-24T12:49:18Z")
Then there’s “it’s on like a marathon!” Or, as a rather morbid friend has it, “it’s on like a stillborn!” ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-oh-its-on/746878/11 "2016-02-24T14:40:31Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > And by the way that’s “It’s on like Donkey Kong and Robotron!” The story I’ve heard is that the “It’s on like Donkey Kong” originates from an arcade owner named Robert Mori in 1984. I’ve never heard that he said it with “Robotron”, although I guess it is possible. I’d be interested to see if you have any cite for that form of the phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-oh-its-on/746878/12 "2016-02-24T15:01:09Z")
Naughty by Nature and Eazy-E both released songs called _It’s On_ in 1993.