ish ka bibble

English

Etymology

Borrowing from Yiddish, meaning "I should worry". The origins are disputed. One theory is that it is a corruption of the German nicht gefiedelt ("not flustered"). Another possibility is that it comes from German ich kaan bedibbert ("I am abashed"). Possibly a fake Yiddishism.

Phrase

ish ka bibble

1. Why should I worry?; I don't care.
   • 1913, The Santa Fe Magazine - Volume 8, page 74:

     Guess they thought we would crawfish, But there was never a word or a quibble ; When they offered us freights, among others, We said "Let 'em come, ish-ka-bibble."

   • 1914, Steam Machinery: A Magazine of Men, Machinery and Methods:

     Surveying your individual reasons, Nature remarks "Ish ka bibble" in a bored tone and goes on to run the square and the level over the job.

   • 1989, Helen Harris Perlman, The Dancing Clock, and Other Childhood Memories, page 95:

     "Guess I'll do some diving from the raft today," I said, pointedly, to Sonny. "Ish ka bibble," Sonny said.

See also

• ishkabibble