My grandmother (born in 1869 in Wisconsin; lived in Montana in the 1910s and in California from the late 1910s until she died in 1959) used to use another variant: "Aha! she cried, And waved her wooden leg ON HIGH."
Like several of the other phrases she used, it seemed to me as a child and teenager to have no discernable meaning; but she'd cock her head, roll her eyes a bit sideways, and grin wickedly as if I were (or ought to be) in on the joke, and I'd smile obediently....
For years I've assumed it was from some widely-known music hall script; but inquiring amongst people in a retirement home where I volunteered to lead crossword puzzles in the late 90s-early 2000s produced no recognition.