Where "Tooroo" Comes From
“Tooroo” is an old Australian slang way of saying goodbye. Green’s Dictionary of Slang tags it Aus. and records many spellings, including “too-roo”, “too-a-roo”, “tooraloo” and “tooraladi”. It is related to “toodle-oo”.
The earliest dated use in Green’s is 1910, in the Sydney Bulletin, which prints “Well, Tooraladi.” More Sydney papers follow in 1916, 1920 and 1927. The 1927 Bulletin item says the expression had been common in Sydney about thirty years earlier and credits it to the chorus of a popular song of that era. It then shows up in a 1942 book (“Too roo, Joe.”) and in Xavier Herbert’s Soldiers’ Women, set in the Second World War. Green’s also has two later British examples, from 1970 and 1984.
Source:
“Well, tooroo, I’m off to catch the bus.”
How Aussies Actually Use It
You will mostly find it in older books and newspapers, where it is tossed off at the end of a chat, as in “Well, tooroo!” Today most Aussies say “hooroo”, “catch ya” or “laters” instead.
Say It Like an Aussie
Say it: too-ROO.
In conversation:
- Well, tooroo, I’m off to catch the bus.
- Tooroo, see you later.
- He said tooroo and left.
Good to know: It’s an old way of saying goodbye. You’ll mostly find it in older books and from older speakers.
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