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Jildy jildy

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on August 19, 2009 at 21:49

In Reply to: Jildy jildy posted by Gordon on August 19, 2009 at 14:06:

: Hello. Great site!

: Clicked on the chop chop entry then looked about for another phrase my grandfather used to use - often directly after chop chop - jildy jildy...
: Didn't find it on your site, but a search finds

: en.wiktionary.org/ wiki/jildy

: Seems to fit as my grandfather was a merchant seaman during WW2 and I know he visited India and China, but I've never heard anyone else use that phrase!

It's an Indian word meaning "hurry up!" It used to be very commonplace in Britain, when we still had large numbers of soldiers based in India; these days only elderly people, or military/colonial families, are likely to use it. Kipling used it in his poem "Gunga Din" Kipling spelt it "juldee"; these days "juldi" or "jaldi" are more normal spellings. (VSD)

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