# Origin of "yipes stripes" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 6, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-yipes-stripes/311240 "2005-07-06T02:59:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-yipes-stripes/311240/1 "2005-07-06T02:59:05Z")
Obviously this is a variation on “yikes,” itself a variation on “yoicks” if one believes Merriam-Webster. But somewhere along the way, a writer came up with this rhyming pair, and it caught on. I’d like to know when and where. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-yipes-stripes/311240/2 "2005-07-06T03:01:03Z")
It’s the name of a song in the MST3K episode “Teenage Strangler” (1968), so it’s at least that old. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-yipes-stripes/311240/3 "2005-07-06T03:02:41Z")
This is a question with a factual answer (or at least something approaching one) rather than something about the arts. It would fit better in **General Questions** , so I’ll move it over there for you. TVeblen ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-yipes-stripes/311240/4 "2005-07-06T03:04:04Z")
Well, hell. Maybe it _is_ arty. Where the hell is Ike when he’s needed, hmmm? Offically confused, Veb ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-yipes-stripes/311240/5 "2005-07-06T03:07:05Z")
I recall an old commercial for “Fruit Stripe Gum,” where the jingle was “Yipes stripes.” This was the mid-to-late '80s. Don’t ask me why I remember that, since my mom didn’t even allow us to chew gum. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-yipes-stripes/311240/6 "2005-07-06T03:39:59Z")
Wow. It blows me away that this seems to be common knowledge, because I’ve never heard the term “yipes stripes” in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-yipes-stripes/311240/7 "2005-07-06T03:43:26Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > I recall an old commercial for “Fruit Stripe Gum,” where the jingle was “Yipes stripes.” This was the mid-to-late '80s. Don’t ask me why I remember that, since my mom didn’t even allow us to chew gum. IIRC, Beech Nut and earlier than the 80’s if I’m not mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-yipes-stripes/311240/8 "2005-07-06T04:19:44Z")
“Yipes! Stripes! New Beech Nut Fruit Stripe Gum!” was an ad jingle from the early to mid '60s, sung by a cartoon zebra. This was back when a pack of gum ws five cents. ---
**Author:** ![MisterThyristor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecccb3/32.png) [@MisterThyristor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MisterThyristor)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-yipes-stripes/311240/9 "2005-07-06T10:58:21Z")
I don’t remember the year (I’m thinking 70s, perhaps earlier), but I do remember the ad and the music: Yipes! Stripes! Beechnut’s got 'em. Yipes! Stripes! It’s fruit-striped gum! (or Fruit Stripe, not sure) Yipes! Stripes! Five different flavors! Get Beechnut Fruit Stripe gum! ---
**Author:** ![MisterThyristor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecccb3/32.png) [@MisterThyristor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MisterThyristor)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-yipes-stripes/311240/10 "2005-07-06T11:01:22Z")
A quick Google shows that it’s been included on a DVD of shows from the early 60s, so maybe it’s older than I thought. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-yipes-stripes/311240/11 "2005-07-06T11:44:23Z")
I recall the Fruit Stripes gum (with the “Yipes Stripes!” expression) from the 1960s, so I’ll confirm Thyristor’s finding. To tell the truth, I don’t recall it as a song, though, but Ican easily be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-yipes-stripes/311240/12 "2005-07-06T14:03:18Z")
**Biffy** and I are running parallel memories. It had to be during the period when I could wrestle the TV away from my older sisters, but before we got color, so I’d bet somewhere between 1961-1965. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-yipes-stripes/311240/13 "2005-07-06T14:33:38Z")
Definitely from the 60s. And the phrase is almost certainly from the commercial.