la-la
adjectiveverbnounnounattested in dialogue
- United States
Of indifferent quality; so-so.
adjective
- 1
Of indifferent quality; so-so.
Parker's play is only la-la; he is a low fellow, and as clownish in his manners as he is in his dress.
Etymology
Sounds used to form meaningless song refrains. Of imitative origin. Compare Old English lā, a common exclamation, Greek λαλαγε (lalage, “babble”), German lallen (“to babble”). Compare also blah blah.
verb
- 1
To sing or recite the syllable la repeatedly.
"When the Saints Go Marchin' In," and "Jesus Loves Me," Arly in Spanish, me in English, as, in her orange robe in the wheelchair, her paralyzed arm belted with white Velcro into its fiberglass brace, Mom "la-la-ed" along.
- 2
To sing (a song) with la replacing the song lyrics.
PETER immediately begins ‘La, la-ing’ ‘The Merry Widow’, pulls JOSEPHINE up into a dancing position and begins to waltz her clear of the screen then towards the french window
noun
- 1
slangSomething unusually good; (occasionally) something unusually bad.
We all agreed he was wise, but we did want the worst way to see that girl. We were sure that she was a la-la from all Billy said.
- 2
slangA woman's genitals, especially the vagina; a sexually permissive woman.
Thankfully, other BB starlets have gone on to find work that doesn't involve pushing their la-las together for one-handed mags.
For a western woman’s entire life, from her first menstrual period to her death, her ‘la la’ is a moneymaking machine for the big businesses who want to cultivate her ‘lady garden’.
Etymology
Unknown. Compare la, an interjection used to introduce a statement or express emotion.
noun
- 1
Variant of la laAlternative form of la la (“clams”).
Etymology
From Hokkien 啦啦 (la-la), from 蜊 (lâ, “clam”).
Forms
- plural
- la-las
- past tense
- la-la-ed
- past participle
- la-la-ed
- present participle
- la-la-ing
- third person singular
- la-la-s