What does ‘A dingo ate my baby’ mean and where does it come from?
THE phrase “A dingo ate my baby” has popped up numerous times in popular culture.
However, the true meaning of this term comes from a very tragic tale.
What does ‘A dingo ate my baby’ mean?
“A dingo ate my baby!” is a cry popularly attributed to Lindy Chamberlain, after her baby Azaria was snatched by the wild dogs in 1980.
The Chamberlain family had been camping in central Australia when their daughter was taken from their tent by a dingo.
Prosecuting authorities rejected her story about a dingo as far-fetched, charging her with murder and securing convictions against her and, also, against her then-husband Michael Chamberlain as an accessory after the fact.
After years of challenge in the courts, both parents were absolved of the crime and in 2012 a coroner found Azaria’s death was “the result of being attacked and taken by a dingo”.
Where does the phrase come from?
The phrase was popularised by the case as Lindy is reported to have either called out to her husband, “the dingo’s got my baby,” “a dingo took my baby!”, “That dog’s got my baby!” or “My God, My God, a dingo has got my baby!”
As we mentioned above, the disappearance and subsequent trials was a huge story in Australia.
The case then got international exposure with the 1988 film A Cry in the Dark in the US, which starred Meryl Streep as Lindy and Sam Neill as Michael Chamberlain.
The line “Maybe the dingo ate your baby?” then got even greater exposure with Elaine’s joke in the 1991 Seinfeld episode The Stranded.
Another example is in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as the character Oz’s band is called Dingoes Ate My Baby.
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What happened to baby Azaria Chamberlain?
When Azaria was two months old, the family went on a camping trip to Uluru, arriving on August 16, 1980.
On the night of August 17, Lindy reported that the child had been taken from the tent her children were sleeping in by a dingo.
A massive search was organised but Azaria was never found – however, the jumpsuit she had been wearing was discovered about a week later about 4km (2.5 miles) from the tent, bloodstained about the neck, indicating she had been killed.