Brass razoo

A 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

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

• Three-dollar bill

References

1. Kel Richards. "Wordwatch: Brass razoo". ABC News (Australia) . Archived from the original on September 11, 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2008.
2. 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.
3. 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.