Hi Christopher,
The holey dollar (and the 'dump' which was the bit cut out, the 'hole'
so to speak) was one of the early great recycling schemes in the
colony, the original twofer one offer.
The bit about Ulladulla (a small town on the south coast of NSW) wasn't
something I was aware of and I can't see how it got into the vernacular
via that direction. But Gerry Wilkes' book always has something of
interest and it's where I ought to have checked though he says nothing
on hooley dooley or holy moley.
My suspicions now probably are in Robin's suggested direction but I'll
hang loose on it for the mo'.
Many thanks,
Jill
On Friday, December 16, 2005, at 08:43 PM, Christopher Walker wrote:
> <snip>
> Is 'hooley dooley' related to any of this? [JJ]
>
> Guessing, Jill, I'd think 'hooley dooley' is independent of doolally
> (like
> Steven's "dilly-dally") -- an extension of the simple "hooley" (Irish
> -- a
> wild party, and extended senses) (glossed in both Beale/Partridge 8 and
> Cassell Slang) ? [RH]
> <snip>
>
> Also guessing...
>
> Hooley < holy (I was fairly confident of that; Cf 'holy moley' etc).
> But why
> dooley? I'd assumed some bloke called Dooley. At which point I checked
> C A
> Wilkes' little dictionary: 'holey dollar see dollar,' he says. Under
> 'holey
> dollar', he then cites J P Townshend (*Rambles and Observations in New
> South
> Wales; 1849): '[Ulladulla, NSW] ... is commonly called Holey Dollar'.
>
> So the answer _appears_ to be that hooley comes from 'hole' (because
> holey
> dollars have a centre piece cut out); that the whole expression found
> strength from Ulladulla, and that it came to mean much the same as
> 'holy
> moley', with 'hooley' now being interpreted as 'holy' rather than
> holey'.
>
> Unless I'm way off the mark.
>
> CW
> _______________________________________________
>
> 'Think of a book inflicted on its author...' (Alan Sondheim)
>
>
_______________________________________________________
Jill Jones
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