Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ttfn

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.21 in modern English

Syllables
ttfn
IPA
7
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

phrase

Initialism of ta-ta for now; goodbye.

Example Sentences

Etymology

In 1939, initialisms, previously rarely used except by the military, were heard more frequently by the British public. ITMA satirised them by coining TTFN, a "pointless" initialism (no easier to say than the phrase on which it was based) to use as a catchphrase, which became widely repeated in the UK. Thirty years later, American ventriloquist Paul Winchell, following the suggestion of his third wife, Jean Freeman, who was British, improvised it as a signature phrase for the (originally British) character Tigger in the Disney films based on A. A. Milne's book The House at Pooh Corner. This, in a world now accustomed to them, popularised worldwide a word originally coined to make fun of initialisms.

Synonyms

TT4N

Questions

What does ttfn mean?
Initialism of ta-ta for now; goodbye.
Where does ttfn come from?
In 1939, initialisms, previously rarely used except by the military, were heard more frequently by the British public. ITMA satirised them by coining TTFN, a "pointless" initialism (no easier to say than the phrase on which it was based) to use as a catchphrase, which became widely repeated in the UK. Thirty years later, American ventriloquist Paul Winchell, following the suggestion of his third wife, Jean Freeman, who was British, improvised it as a signature phrase for the (originally British) character Tigger in the Disney films based on A. A. Milne's book The House at Pooh Corner. This, in a world now accustomed to them, popularised worldwide a word originally coined to make fun of initialisms.

How to pronounce ttfn

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “ttfn”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “ttfn”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “ttfn” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.