The Flintstones Quotes
Shmoop will make you a better lover...of quotes
ALL QUOTES POPULAR BROWSE BY AUTHOR BROWSE BY SOURCE BROWSE BY TOPIC BROWSE BY SUBJECT
Source: The Flintstones
Speaker: Fred Flintstone
Yabba dabba doo!
Context
This line is spoken by Fred Flintstone in the TV show The Flintstones (1960-1966).
It's amazing how similar the prehistoric era was to the 1960s: men went to work during the day and bowling with their social club at night, while women stayed at home, cleaned, shopped, and gossiped.
Who knew?
The only differences were the presence of dinosaurs (Sean Connery wasn't yet a dinosaur in 1960) and the slang. People in the sixties were saying, "that's a gas" and "righteous," while Fred Flintstone bellowed "Yabba dabba doo!" whenever he was excited…like before digging into a juicy brontosaurus burger.
Where you've heard it
You've heard this line on any given episode of The Flintstones or any of its various movies, including a live-action version with John Goodman and Rosie O'Donnell.
And the phrase is surprisingly versatile, being used in the highest quality dramas and the lowest common denominator of comedies.
Additional Notable References
- There is actually bowling league known as the Yabba Dabba Dudes.
- The opposite of Yabba Dabba Doo? Yabba Dabba Don't.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Something has to make sense, we think, before becoming pretentious. This is just stone-age gibberish.