lovely jubbly
English
WOTD – 2 January 2022
Etymology
Based on the 1950s slogan “lubbly Jubbly” advertising Jubbly, an orange-flavoured soft drink. The modified version was coined by the English television scriptwriter John Sullivan (1946–2011) as an expression generally used by the character Derek “Del Boy” Trotter, a market trader from London, in the BBC television comedy Only Fools and Horses (first broadcast 1981–1991, with Christmas specials in 1996 and 2001–2003).[1]
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌlʌvli ˈdʒʌbli/, /-ˌli/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˌlʌvli ˈdʒʌb(ə)li/
- Hyphenation: love‧ly jub‧bly
Interjection
lovely jubbly
- (Britain, informal) Often used as a response to some (anticipated) success: lovely; fantastic, great.
- 2000, Anna Maxted, chapter 35, in Getting Over It, London: Arrow Books, Random House, →ISBN, page 287:
- ‘Yeah?’ says Adam, who doubtless expected me to put up a fight. ‘Lovely jubbly! It's a date!’ / ‘No, it isn’t,’ I say.
- 2004, Beatrice Hollyer, Let’s Eat: What Children Eat around the World, New York, N.Y.: Holt, →ISBN:
- Press gently all the way around to seal the edges and keep the chocolate in. Bake for 10 minutes and eat hot or cold. Easy peasy, lovely jubbly!
-
Usage notes
The term (both as an interjection and adjective) is often used to allude to the acts or attitudes of certain English people, particularly Londoners.
Translations
lovely; fantastic, great — see great
Adjective
lovely jubbly (comparative more lovely jubbly, superlative most lovely jubbly)
- (Britain, informal) Lovely; fantastic, great.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:wonderful
- 1999, Roger Granelli, Status Zero, Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan: Seren, →ISBN, page 169:
- Duane bumped his elbow. They were on the Christmas pudding. 'Fucking lovely jubbly this, innit?' Duane said.
Translations
lovely; fantastic, great — see lovely, fantastic, great
Noun
lovely jubbly (uncountable)
- (Britain, slang) Money.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:money
Translations
money — see money
References
- “lovely jubbly, int., n., and adj.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2021; “lovely jubbly, phrase”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.