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You might say "blah blah blah" when you're not interested in what'd be said.

I sometimes say "whatever" to convey the same idea, which does not share the nice rhythm effect of "blah blah blah". As a non-native speaker of English, I often pronounce "blah blah blah" in a very awkward way when speaking out very quick.

Any alternatives for "blah blah blah"?

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  • 1
    "bleh bleh bleh"?
    – siamii
    Nov 16, 2011 at 20:01
  • 1
    "If silence was golden, you couldn't raise a dime." ("Because your mind is on vacation and your mouth is workin' overtime") - Mose Allison
    – MickeyfAgain_BeforeExitOfSO
    Nov 16, 2011 at 22:34
  • Are you talking about something that you would actually say to the other person (and how rude do you want it to be?), or are you talking about something that you would use after the fact to describe what the other person was saying?
    – Scott - Слава Україні
    Jan 16, 2018 at 23:45

6 Answers 6

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"Yadda yadda yadda" is one variant.

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    As are "Yeah yeah" "And so on and so forth", and "Etc., etc." in some circumstances.
    – FumbleFingers
    Nov 16, 2011 at 19:15
  • @FumbleFingers I've heard "etc etc etc" quite often. It deserves to be an answer here.
    – Terry Li
    Nov 16, 2011 at 19:41
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    I thought it was "yada yada yada"
    – LarsTech
    Nov 16, 2011 at 21:13
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    @LarsTech It's hard to get the spelling right on those nonsense words. :)
    – Bill the Lizard
    Nov 16, 2011 at 23:49
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    Populair Seinfeld episode, The Yada Yada, imdb.com/title/tt0697814
    – Saif Bechan
    Nov 17, 2011 at 0:35
3

I've been known to make the "Charlie Brown's parents" sound (basicaly like a trumpet with a mute on it) with my mouth.

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    I've heard that used for incomprehensible speech (as opposed to speech one isn't interested in). For example, our QA person sometimes says things like "I asked the developer why that happens and he said (Charlie-Brown noise goes here)", meaning the QA person is still in the dark.
    – Monica Cellio
    Nov 16, 2011 at 19:30
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    Orthographically, "Wah wah, wah 'wah wah wah".
    – Mitch
    Nov 16, 2011 at 20:56
  • @MonicaCellio - I dunno. As a kid, I rarely had that much trouble understanding what my parents said. I always took it as meaning that it was relatively unimportant noises from another world (in this case, the world of adults).
    – T.E.D.
    Nov 16, 2011 at 23:26
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You can open and close your palm with your fingers straight. When you close, your thumb should touch your middle finger. All other four fingers should line up side by side. This looks like a chirping bird and basically means you speak too much, shut up. This is how your palm should look from sideways while performing the motion.

\        \
 \  ---.  \  ---.
 /  ---'  /  ---'
/        /
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    Perhaps I'm too dumb, but I can't follow your sense of humour here :(
    – Terry Li
    Nov 16, 2011 at 20:08
  • @Terry: It's making your hand look like a duck opening and closing it's beak. Or opening the mouth of a hand puppet.
    – Mitch
    Nov 16, 2011 at 20:20
  • @Mitch Thanks Mitch. But anything to do with the question?
    – Terry Li
    Nov 16, 2011 at 20:33
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    @TerryLiYifeng: Oh. As to meaning, it is mimicking someone talking a lot, in a deprecatory manner. It is often a hand gesture that goes along with 'yadda yadda yadda' or 'blah blah blah' (but not at all with 'etc etc etc') or behind someones back when one is bored with their incessant blather. This answer isn't really about English language, but about gestures in modern American culture (other cultures may easily use it but I don't know).
    – Mitch
    Nov 16, 2011 at 20:53
  • @Mitch So kind of you to solve my confusion!
    – Terry Li
    Nov 16, 2011 at 20:56
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I have heard 'nah nah nah' used as well for this purpose (sometimes accompanied by placing ones fingers in their ears).

On the popular TV show "how i met your mother"* a common way they showed disinterest was by placing the palm of their hand over their mouth and blowing to create a flatulent sound. This is generally viewed as more offensive than saying 'blah blah blah' as it is alouder and more obnoxious sound.

*Yes, there is improper grammar in the title of the show.

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  • I can't see the improper use of grammar in "how i met your mother" :(
    – Terry Li
    Nov 16, 2011 at 19:09
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    haha the 'i' should be capitalized
    – ChrisM
    Nov 16, 2011 at 19:11
  • ==! what about the first letter of "how"? lol
    – Terry Li
    Nov 16, 2011 at 19:13
  • That is true as well
    – ChrisM
    Nov 16, 2011 at 19:14
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They are not so short, but they do have a little rhythmic effect if you say them quickly:

  • etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, ......
  • and so on, and so on, and so on, ......
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boring, boring, and super boring! Did I mention boring yet?

  • I think this could ( would) be a great prompt in a story! Here is my thoughts.....

My eyes are glued to the clock, two minutes until summer! Sweat trickles down my back, as I focus my eyes harder. All day I haven't listened to a word Mrs. Clark has said, It's not my fault! Whatever she says comes out like, " boring,boring, super boring! Did I mention boring yet?

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