\n[Q]<\/span> From Christopher Key<\/em>: \u201cSeveral of my Canadian friends use the term tickety-boo<\/i> to describe an event that is proceeding quickly. Any idea where this one originates?\u201d<\/p>\n[A]<\/span> It\u2019s certainly common in Canada, but is very probably British in origin. The usual meaning, by the way, is more that something is satisfactory, all in order, or OK.<\/p>\nWe can\u2019t be sure what its origin is. Eric Partridge always contended that the word was forces\u2019 slang, most probably from the Royal Air Force, and that it dates from the early 1920s or thereabouts (though the Oxford English Dictionary<\/em> doesn\u2019t find a written example before 1939). Considering the number of Canadians who flew with the RAF during World War II, its move to Canada isn\u2019t surprising.<\/p>\nThe difficult bit is taking the word back any further than the 1920s. It could combine that\u2019s the ticket<\/i> \u2014 with much the same sense \u2014 with the childish phrase peek-a-boo<\/i>. But some find a link with the British Army in India, suggesting it comes from the Hindi phrase tikai babu<\/i>, which is translated as \u201cit\u2019s all right, sir\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
… but had a direct of mine (from the UK) use in IM today. 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