lovely jubbly

English

WOTD – 2 January 2022

Etymology

Based on the 1950s slogan “lubbly Jubbly” advertising Jubbly, an orange-flavoured soft drink. The modified version was coined by the English television scriptwriter John Sullivan (1946–2011) as an expression generally used by the character Derek “Del Boy” Trotter, a market trader from London, in the BBC television comedy Only Fools and Horses (first broadcast 1981–1991, with Christmas specials in 1996 and 2001–2003).^[1]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌlʌvli ˈdʒʌbli/, /-ˌli/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˌlʌvli ˈdʒʌb(ə)li/
Hyphenation: love‧ly jub‧bly

Interjection

lovely jubbly

(British, informal) Often used as a response to some (anticipated) success: lovely; fantastic, great.
- 2000, Anna Maxted, chapter 35, in Getting Over It, London: Arrow Books, Random House, →ISBN, page 287:
  ‘Yeah?’ says Adam, who doubtless expected me to put up a fight. ‘Lovely jubbly! It's a date!’ / ‘No, it isn’t,’ I say.
- 2004, Beatrice Hollyer, Let’s Eat: What Children Eat around the World, New York, N.Y.: Holt, →ISBN:
  Press gently all the way around to seal the edges and keep the chocolate in. Bake for 10 minutes and eat hot or cold. Easy peasy, lovely jubbly!

Usage notes

The term (both as an interjection and adjective) is often used to allude to the acts or attitudes of certain English people, particularly Londoners.

Translations

lovely; fantastic, great — see great

Adjective

lovely jubbly (comparative more lovely jubbly, superlative most lovely jubbly)

(British, informal) Lovely; fantastic, great.
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:wonderful
- 1999, Roger Granelli, Status Zero, Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan: Seren, →ISBN, page 169:
  Duane bumped his elbow. They were on the Christmas pudding. 'Fucking lovely jubbly this, innit?' Duane said.

Translations

lovely; fantastic, great — see lovely,‎ fantastic,‎ great

Noun

lovely jubbly (uncountable)

(British, slang) Money.
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:money

Translations

money — see money

References

^ “lovely jubbly, int., n., and adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2021; “lovely jubbly, phrase”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

[1] “lovely jubbly, int., n., and adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2021; “lovely jubbly, phrase”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

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