You Bet Your Sweet Bippy Meaning
Definition: That’s definitely correct.
Origin of You Bet Your Sweet Bippy
This expression became popular in the late 1960s when characters used it on a show called Laugh In.
It is similar to another expression, you bet your ass. This expression has the same meaning, you can be certain about that. The show writers may have chosen the substitution bippy to get around censorship. TV shows during that time had strict guidelines about which words they were allowed to say.
Despite the implication that bippy was a substitute for a more impolite term, show creators claimed that the word was a nonsense word that they picked just because it sounded funny.
Examples of You Bet Your Sweet Bippy
In this conversation, two high-school students are discussing their plans for the day.
Lisa: Where are you going? Our science class is over this way.
Annie: I know. I’m skipping class today. I’m going to go see a movie instead.
Lisa: You can’t be serious. You’re not really skipping, are you?
Annie: You bet your sweet bippy I am!
In the dialogue below, two friends talk about hearing the expression.
Seth: I just got off the phone with my grandpa. He told me that he just won a few thousand dollars in the lottery. I didn’t believe him, so I asked him if it was true.
Jimmy: What did he say?
Seth: He said, “You bet your sweet bippy it’s true.” I’m not sure what that means.
Jimmy: I think it means he’s saying it’s true.
More Examples
This excerpt is from an article about whether or not an actor has the necessary skills for a certain role.
- Can he dance? You bet your sweet bippy he can—tap and Bollywood. One, perhaps, a little more expertly than the other, but really, this is a role that merely requires an actor who moves well. –Vanity Fair
This excerpt is about the origin of the expression. It talks about other catch phrases from the same show. The headline of the article, “Bet your sweet bippy ‘Rowen & Martin’s Laugh-In’ was funny,” uses the idiom to emphasize that a TV show was certainly very funny.
- Pigmeat Markham’s “Here Come De Judge” had been around as a vaudeville gag for years, but “Laugh-In” donated “Sock it to me,” “You bet your sweet bippy” and “Look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls,” not to mention a sinister Germanic “Veelllly interesting.” –New York Daily News
Summary
The phrase bet your sweet bippy is a catchphrase from an old show that means of course. It is very informal.
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