cheerio

See also: Cheerio

English

Etymology

From cheer and/or cheery +‎ -o.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈtʃɪəɹ.i.əʊ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɪəɹ.i.oʊ/, [ˈt͡ʃiɹi.oʊ̯]

  • Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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Interjection

cheerio

1. (British, Ireland, Commonwealth, informal) Goodbye, an interjection said upon parting.
   • 1921, P. G. Wodehouse, Indiscretions of Archie, ch. XIII. Rallying Round Percy:

     "In that case," said Archie, relieved, "cheerio, good luck, pip-pip, toodle-oo, and good-bye-ee! I'll be shifting!"

   • 2019 October 23, Pip Dunn, “The next king of Scotland”, in Rail, page 50:

     But we all knew it wasn't the final end of the HST. This wasn't "goodbye", more like a "cheerio, see you someplace soon".

2. (rare) Hello; a greeting.
   • 1947, Anita Bell, He Done Her Wrong:

     Cheerio, everybody! What a delightful gathering of charming femininity!

Usage notes

Rarely used in North America. Although likely to be understood, it is likely to be considered humorous, and may be used in a parody of British English speakers.

Derived terms

• chip chip cheerio

Translations

goodbye, toodeloo — see also bye

• German: tschüss (de)
• Macedonian: до гле́дање (do glédanje) (formal), до виду́вање (do vidúvanje) (formal)

hello — see also hi

• German: hallo (de)
• Macedonian: здра́во (zdrávo) (when greeting)

translations to be checked: exclamation used when greeting as well as when parting

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 嗨 (zh) (hāi), 喂 (zh) (wèi), 你好 (zh) (nǐhǎo) (when greeting), 再會／再会 (zh) (zàihuì), 拜拜 (zh) (bàibài, bāibái, báibái) (when parting)

• Czech: servus (cs), ahoj (cs), čau (cs)
• Dutch: hoi (nl) (when greeting), doei (nl) (when parting)
• Finnish: terve (fi), hei (fi)
• French: salut (fr)
• Hindi: बंदगी (hi) (bandgī)
• Italian: ciao (it)
• Japanese: こんにちは (ja) (konnichi wa), やあ (yā), どうも (ja) (dōmo) (when greeting), では (de wa), またね (mata ne), じゃ (ja) (ja), バイバイ (ja) (baibai), バイ (ja) (bai) (when parting)
• Korean: 안녕 (ko) (annyeong)
• Macedonian: по́здрав (pózdrav) (when greeting and when parting)
• Polish: cześć (pl) (when greeting), pa (pl) (when parting)
• Russian: приве́т (ru) (privét), здоро́во (ru) (zdoróvo) (when greeting); пока́ (ru) (poká), бу́дь здоро́в! (ru) (búdʹ zdoróv!) (informal, to a man), бу́дь здоро́ва! (búdʹ zdoróva!) (informal, to a woman), бу́дьте здоро́вы! (ru) (búdʹte zdoróvy!) (formal or to a group) (when parting)
• Scottish Gaelic: tìoraidh
• Serbo-Croatian: bok (sh), бок

Noun

cheerio (plural cheerios)

1. (Queensland, New Zealand) A small saveloy often consumed with tomato sauce at parties.
   • 1978, New Zealand. Parliament. House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates, page 4230:

     The man who has gone around the cocktail circuit pounding cheerios to the end of time did not come in here and open his mouth once on the Bill.

Synonyms

• cocktail sausage
• little boy