What does 'It ain't over till the fat lady sings' mean?

Answer 1

Until the Fat Lady Sings...A reference to Kate Smith, the proverbial "fat lady" who hailed the rise of the Philadelphia Flyers "Broadstreet Bullies" during the 1970s with her rousing renditions of "God Bless America." More Information:There are three basic possibilities for the origin of this phrase:

• Although some speculate that the phrase refers to a crass interpretation of opera or is attributable to women in southern church choirs, the phrase "It ain't over till the fat lady sings" actually refers to an actual "fat lady," Kate Smith, who was a large woman and a very popular singer and radio star from the 1930s to 1950s (Irving Berlin wrote God Bless America for her). In the 1950s, Kate had her own TV show, which ended right before the station went off the air for the night - thus, the TV broadcast day was not over until this particular fat lady sang her closing song. The phrase itself was later coined in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the 1970s. It originated when the Philadelphia Flyers of the day, called the "Broadstreet Bullies," amassed an impressive record on nights when Kate Smith's "God Bless America" was played over the loudspeaker system at the Spectrum. The flyers were nearly unbeaten in games when the song was played during the 1973-74 season, and Kate Smith herself appeared live for Game 6 of the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals when the underdog Flyers prevailed to win the cup over the heavily favored Boston Bruins. The Flyers had such success during games before which Kate smith sang that the phrase "It ain't over till the fat lady sings" was coined in Philadelphia.

No matter where it comes from, the saying means "you don't know how this is going to end until the final minute."

Yet more information:"The adage sounds like it sprung from the mouth of a weary opera patron, but it was actually coined by a sportswriter and broadcaster named Dan Cook.

"Cook covered the NBA's San Antonio Spurs in the 1970s. In 1978, the Spurs were playing the Washington Bullets in the playoffs and down three games to one. Cook, who had used the witticism once before in a column, repeated it on the air as a way to cheer up Spurs fans. Alas, despite making it close, the Spurs lost the series.

"Bullets coach Dick Motta apparently liked the saying and used it to motivate his own team. The Bullets went on to win the championship, proving that while "it's not over 'til the fat lady sings," sometimes inspirational clich�s are "too little, too late."

This explanation has allegedly been recorded in the Library of Congress By the way, I was alive during the Kate Smith days and also heard that attribution a few years later, but before Cook used it in the '70s. It makes more sense than the opera reference since many operas do not end with an aria by the strongest female diva, fat or not.

Answer 2

It means don't try to say you won until the last note is sung - or the last minute of the game is up. It's originally from the Opera, where many of the lead singers were large women, but now is used to remind people that "it ain't over til it's over.

The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings, was coined by Dan Cook, a sports broadcaster in April, 1978.

See link below for history and trivia
That is something that was observed at an opera and jokingly applied to other events.

Answer 3

Women in the opera are usually bulkier, as they have wider vocal range, and can sing louder. When they say 'It isn't over until the fat lady sings', they are referring to the last note. Traditionally in an opera, the very last note, or the finale is sung by a women, and it is either quite loud, or loud and high. Now you can see the combination of bulky women with the ending of the opera, or anything else.

More specifically, the Fat Lady is likely to be Brunhilde, who sings the final aria in Gotterdemerung, Wagners last opera in the Ring cycle. Brunhilde is usually seen as a Viking warrior with winged helmet and spear and has a suitable stature, i.e. impressive, large.....or Fat!

When she stops singing ( apart from a one-liner from someone else) its over.

(Add on:) It seems to me that I remember seeing a short film (much like "The Little Rascals") where two boys are watching an opera from the balcony. The older boy brought the younger. The younger boy starts to applaud toward the end, but the older boy (who has seen this before) says "It's not over till the fat lady sings". He then points to a Brunhilde character who definitely fits the description. I hope that someone else has seen the clip.

The phrase originates from sailors on shore leave in days gone by. Steam was the agent of propulsion, and the boiler was affectionately known as the "fat lady". The boiler had to be stoked to build up a head of steam for the ship to leave port. When sufficient pressure had been generated the whistle blew. The "fat lady" had thus sung, to signal to the sailors that their run ashore had ended.

Answer 4

The first recorded use appeared in the Dallas Morning news on 10 March 1976, by journalist Ralph Carpenter: It happened when Texas Tech tied the game at 72-72 in the SWC tournament. "Hey Ralph." said Bill Morgan, "This is going to be a tight one after all". "Right", said Ralph. "the opera ain't over until the fat lady sings." The phrase is generally understood to be referencing the stereotypically overweight sopranos of Grand Opera.