What does “toodles” mean in American English?
Walmart Shopping Trip To Get Ready For Camping
A2 English listening practice · American English · Picked for people who know a little
Toodles is a playful American English way to say “goodbye.” It comes from the older British greeting toodle-oo, used in early 1900s slang, which then crossed the Atlantic. For most of the 20th century, toodles sounded old-fashioned and cute, the kind of word a grandmother might say. Then American Gen-Z creators on TikTok and YouTube started using it on purpose for the same reason: to sound playful, retro, and a little ironic. Toodles, bye, toodles, friends, and toodle-oo all turn up in modern American casual speech, especially in upbeat sign-offs.
In this clip, a young woman finishes a Walmart camping-prep haul and tells her viewers, “So, toodles, guys. Bye.” The cheerful sign-off matches the rest of her video.
How common are the words?
How common are the words in this A2 English listening practice video?
How common in written English
How common in spoken English
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-US 2012 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.
- ▸In American TikTok and YouTube sign-offs from young creators
- ▸In American children’s TV (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse “Hot dog! See ya real soon!”)
- ▸In American sitcom characters who play retro on purpose (Schitt’s Creek Moira Rose)
- ▸In American mom-blogger and lifestyle content
- ▸In American family-vlog channels and birthday-party content