Conchy legend:

"Belly dance" from the French "danse du ventre."

In the Caribbean we have a baitfish called "Ballyhoo" (Hemiramphus brasiliensis) and we call advertising for the tourists "ballyhoo."

Supposedly we got that from the west coast of Florida. In Sarasota, "bally(hoo)" is circus talk for the freebie teaser show outside the tent, ie: bait.

I was told they got it from an Algerian translator at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. He was calling the "Harem Dancers" to the outside platform stage to shake their tail feathers a little for the draw.

According to circus legend he yelled "Dehalla Hoon!" but nobody really knows what was actually said. The Yank announcers (talkers or barkers) heard "Ballyhoo!" and went with it.

The dozen or three shocked patrons that rushed out in a huff and complained to the local newspapers never saw the real main show... just the "Bally Dancers."

Everything sounds better in French don't it?

Right up to their recent last gasp, circus showgirls were known as "bally broads;" the teaser was the "bally" and the barker's "...she walks, she talks, she slithers on her..." monotone speech pattern was the "grind."