Brass razoo
Brass razoo is an Australian phrase that was first recorded in soldiers' slang in World War I. It is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "a non-existent coin of trivial value".[1] It is commonly used in the expression I haven't got a brass razoo, meaning the speaker is out of money.
Whilst mock coins of 1 Razoo are occasionally produced, no actual monetary unit has ever been so named. Some speculate that the term arises from Egyptian or Indian currency.[citation needed]
Etymologists and lexicographers have disputed and considered theories of the origins of the phrase, but most find no theory satisfactory.[2]
Origin[edit]
Razoo may be a corruption of a sou, the smallest French coin.[citation needed] Brass is a common slang term for 'money'.[1]
Eric Partridge, in his Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, cites the Māori word rahu. Harry Orsman's Dictionary of New Zealand English (1997) makes a more confident conjecture.[2]
As The Washington Post reported in December 2007, a Washington, D.C. firm established to facilitate social networking for philanthropy has taken its name from the New Zealand meaning of razoo for a small coin.[3]
Another posited origin is a phrase used by Australian soldiers serving in France, and considered a joking reference used between Australian infantry and American troops. It was based on the Yankee "blowing a raspberry" also called a "razoo", a mouth-sound made to sound like a fart.[2]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Kel Richards. "Wordwatch: Brass razoo". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 2 March 2008.
- ^ a b c Frederick Ludowyk (April 2000). "Brass Razoo: Is it but a breath of wind?". Australian National Dictionary Centre. Australian National University. Archived from the original on 18 April 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2008.
- ^ Zachary A. Goldfarb (17 December 2007). "District Firm Razoo Joins Other Web Site Builders Trying to Reinvent How People Give Money to Charity". The Washington Post. p. D01. Retrieved 2 March 2008.