tickety-boo

adjective

The definition of tickety-boo is an informal British expression that is something in working order.

An example of tickety-boo is a finely tuned bike.

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MLA Style

"tickety-boo." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 11 April 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/tickety-boo>.

APA Style

tickety-boo. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/tickety-boo

tickety-boo

Brit., Informal fine, excellent, in working order, etc.: an old-fashioned use

Origin of tickety-boo

from ticket (as in that's the ticket!) + -y + -boo

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"tickety-boo." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 11 April 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/tickety-boo>.

APA Style

tickety-boo. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/tickety-boo

Adjective

(not comparable)

(chiefly UK, informal) Correct, satisfactory.

Origin

I understand that the origin is India. In Hindi, "Tikai babu" means "It's alright, Sir." While India was governed under the British Empire, British airmen picked up the expression and it evolved into its current form. Canadian soldiers picked up the expression from their British allies during World War 2, and introduced it into Canadian jargon soon after.

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-tic1.htm

Origin

Possibly from an Indo-Aryan language: Compare Hindi à¤ à¥€à¤• (á¹hÄ«k) à¤¹à¥ˆ (hai), à¤¬à¤¾à¤¬à¥‚ (bÄbÅ«), "It's all right, sir". The phrase could have been picked up by UK personnel in India before independence and spread in modified form to the UK and elsewhere in the Commonwealth

Adjective

(not comparable)