Hi everyone,

I’m kind of surprised this one hasn’t come up in any of my searches.

When I look at the origin on several sites it says:

http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50254341?single=1&query_type=word&queryword=toodleoo&first=1&max_to_show=10

Or:

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=toodleoo

I heard somewhere that this phrase actually comes from the French “à toute à l’heure”.

Doesn’t this seem more probable as horribly mangled French than some strange form of “toot”? I guess I’m wondering if anyone knows why the mangled French theory of this origin seems to be discounted.

Best,
David

The most common spelling seems to be “tootle-loo” and the phrase finder (phrases.org.uk) agrees with what you have.  A couple guesses is all.