bobbery-bob

English

Etymology

Alteration of Hindi बाप रे बाप (bāp re bāp, “Father oh father!”).[1]

Interjection

bobbery-bob

  1. (Anglo-Indian, obsolete) Oh dear! Alas! Good lord!
    • 1868, Out of the Meshes, volume II, page 273:
      ‘Would not your Royal Highness like to come into the next room and see the dancers?’ said the Major in great perplexity, forgetting all about the inflected verbs. / ‘No, Bobbery Bob! I’ll drink some more sherbet, old man’.

References
  1. James Lambert, 2018, 'Anglo-Indian slang in dictionaries on historical principles' World Englishes Vol. 37, page 254-255.
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