I heard myself saying something was "tickety-boo", meaning good, successful, or satisfactory. Does anyone know where this strange-sounding phrase originated?
Learn English – Why “tickety-boo”
etymologyphrases
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I believe it is an Irish slang phrase.
You couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo (phr): bad aim, woeful hurler/darts player/soccer player etc.
Below are some Google findings which make me think this way:
- Dublin Slang
- Everyday English and slang in Ireland
- BBC - Northern Ireland - Voices
- Irish Vocabulary, Everyday English and Slang on Irish Celtic Jewels
- Everyday English and Slang in Ireland (scribd.com)
I also came accross an interesting forum thread which mentions this phrase. Here is an excerpt:
Jackie Milburn: - My dad used to say "son, yer couldn't hit a cow's arse with a shovel"
Juande the Spurrier: - There is a shovel that is called a banjo, because it's shaped like the musical instrument. Seems a farmer might be more likely to have a shovel than a banjo.
With further research, I found out that banjo is a shovel type indeed.
Banjo (as a shovel):
Banjo (as a musical instrument):
It means "an exemplar." One who should be emulated.
Related Topic
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Best Answer
ठीकहैंबाबू (tikai bābū) means "Yes, sir" in Hindi.
[EDIT]
The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang
The proper Hindi phrase is ठीक हैं बाबू /theak hai, babu/ (Okay, Sir) —ed.
The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang By Eric Partridge, Tom Dalzell, Terry Victor, Tom Dalzell; Routledge. (c); see: GoogleBooks
See also:
on phrases.org
Dalya Goldberger, 'Origins' on writersblock.ca