"Hot Diggity ..."

Question

Ok, perhaps the last one was too easy :) Here's one that a friend of mine uses, and I'd love to know if it's something he coined, or is it a more common expression than I think:

Hot diggity-dag-dong-ding ... sh*t fire and save matches.

Given the southern twang that he uses when he says it, I would imagine this is a southern U.S. saying. Any takers on this one?

mfg · Accepted Answer

It's a conglomeration of excitement [hot diggity], disbelief/disgust [daggone], and "Well you don't say?"[sh** fire and save matches]. Another similar (made up), and idiosyncratic construction:

Zam a lama durn dang Sh** fire and save the baby!

It is likely highly regional (perhaps to the point of inside his own head).

Robusto · Answer

Well, Wikipedia has this to say:

The phrase "hot diggity dog!" dates to at least 1928, when Al Jolson was recorded saying "Hot diggity dog! Hot kitty! Hot pussycat! Didn't I tell you you'd love it?" after a performance of the tune "There's A Rainbow Around My Shoulder".

There was also a song from 1956 called "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)" (same article).

"Hot Diggity ..."

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