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Originally Posted by I B Hankering
"Yes, we have no bananas"; ergo, Spam -- and the germination of a great Monty Python skit.
The expression dates from the 1920s Chicago/New York(?) when there was a shortage of bananas because of a blight in Brazil. Patrons would enter the store and ask, "Still no bananas?" The grocer routinely answered, "Yes! We have no bananas."
The term has been resurrected on many occasions, including in Britain during WWII, when the British Government banned the importing of bananas for an entire five years.
During WWII, British shop owners put signs stating "Yes, we have no bananas" in their shop windows in keeping with the war spirit.
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Merv Griffin had a big hit song with his version of "Yes We Have No Bananas". He also had a big hit with "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts". Later it was discovered that Merv Griffin was a fruitcake.