ooh la la
/u.lɑˈlɑ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.72 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
intj
A reply implying pretentiousness; often in response to another person's use of a big word, especially a loanword that English got from French.
intj
An exclamation of surprise, sometimes with strong sexual connotations.
Example Sentences
- "Oh, they were serving croque-monsieurs, now were they? Ooh la la."
- "Ooh la la, monsieur, you do have big muscles after all."
- "Well, what are we gonna tell your mama? / What are we gonna tell your pa? / What are we gonna tell our friends / When they say, "Ooh la la!""
- "And when the British respond to a risqué joke with ‘ooh la la’ there’s a sauciness implied that just isn’t there in the original French words, risqué meaning ‘risked’ (a verb, not an adjective) and oh là là a great many things from ‘wow’ to ‘oh dear’, none of them very sexy."
Etymology
French oh là là / ouh là là, an exclamation of surprise, concern, or dismay. The French exclamation lacks the connotations of the English, either of snobbery or raciness; these emerged in English owing to stereotypes about the French.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /u.lɑˈlɑ/
- British English: /ˈuː.læ.læ/