Global InformationBrass razoo information
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]
- ^ Kel Richards. "Wordwatch: Brass razoo". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 2 March 2008.
- ^ 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.