bling bling?

[iglak]

where did "bling bling" come from?

you know, like rap culture meaning "expensive jewlery".

 

i ask because a few days ago i was at a friend's house for a magic card mini-tournament. this friend collects old video game systems and old video games. one of the video games i the original "Mario" for the original "Nintendo". I was looking through my deck while people were playing mario next to me. then one of my friends was talking, and she mentioned bling bling. a second later, mario jumped and collected two coins, making the high pitched "bling bling" sound. so i thought, "bling bling? i wonder if... nah, couldn't be!"

 

what do you think?

[atinymonkey]

It comes from the sound made in television adverts and programs made the 80's to indicate quality. When a particularly fine product would appear during the advertisement, the director would put a 'BLING' sound into the advert. This, presumably, was to indicate the arrival of quality. The same sound was used when the 'Handsome Roguish Doctor' tm smiled and showed his teeth, with a comedy sparkle on his perfect white teeth and a 'BLING' sound. This nonsensical use of a random sound effect just permeated culture, as comedians picked it up it just became a common term for quality.

In the UK, it's the word 'Mint', as we were advertised products in 'mint condition' for so long the words became linked.

[blike]

atinymonkey has it. the bling accompanied a sparkle. Diamonds and gold both sparkle, so it came to be known as bling.

 

It seems that in american culture, most of our "ghetto" terms become famous after they're used in a rap song. I remember when the song "bling bling" came out.

 

"Everytime I come around the city, bling bling". I had never heard bling bling before that. After, it exploded, everyone said it.

[Dudde]

and it's so annoying....

 

besides, I always took the advertisements to be more of a "ting" than a "bling"

 

Mario for NES was indeed one of the greatest games ever made