Etymology Sounds used to form meaningless song refrains. Of imitative origin. Compare Old English lā, a common exclamation, Greek λαλαγε (lalage, “babble”), German lallen (“to babble”). Compare also blah blah.
1
Of indifferent quality; so-so.
Parker's play is only la-la; he is a low fellow, and as clownish in his manners as he is in his dress.1876, Mrs. Hibbert Ware, “The Yule Gift”, in The New Monthly Magazine, volume IX, →OCLC, page 20:
la-la
verb
Etymology Sounds used to form meaningless song refrains. Of imitative origin. Compare Old English lā, a common exclamation, Greek λαλαγε (lalage, “babble”), German lallen (“to babble”). Compare also blah blah.
1
To sing or recite the syllable la repeatedly.
"When the Saints Go Marchin' In," and "Jesus Loves Me," Arly in Spanish, me in English, as, in her orange robe in the wheelchair, her paralyzed arm belted with white Velcro into its fiberglass brace, Mom "la-la-ed" along.1999, Samuel R. Delany, Times Square Red, Times Square Blue, New York: New York University Press, →ISBN, page 54:
2
To sing (a song) with la replacing the song lyrics.
PETER immediately begins ‘La, la-ing’ ‘The Merry Widow’, pulls JOSEPHINE up into a dancing position and begins to waltz her clear of the screen then towards the french window1969, Philip King, I'll Get my Man: A Farce, New York: French, →OCLC, page 64:
la la
noun
Singapore /ˌlɑ˨ ˈlɑ˦/
Etymology From Hokkien 啦啦 (la-la), a reduplication of 蜊 (lâ, “clam”).
For good measure, a serving of "la la" clams adds decoration and a pleasant brininess.2017 September 18, Jaime Ee, “Fresh seafood delights from farm to fork at Scaled by Ah Hua Kelong”, in The Straits Times:
We all agreed he was wise, but we did want the worst way to see that girl. We were sure that she was a la-la from all Billy said.1897, “A fair hypothesis”, in Michiganensian, volume 1, →OCLC:
2
Slang A woman's genitals, especially the vagina; a sexually permissive woman.
Thankfully, other BB starlets have gone on to find work that doesn't involve pushing their la-las together for one-handed mags.2009 May 23, “What they did next”, in Aol.co.uk, archived from the original on 25 Dec 2011:
For a western woman’s entire life, from her first menstrual period to her death, her ‘la la’ is a moneymaking machine for the big businesses who want to cultivate her ‘lady garden’.2013, Emma Rees, The Vagina: A Literary and Cultural History, New York: Bloomsbury, →ISBN, page 27: