hully-gully adj. haphazard, disorganized, inconsistent, loosey-goosey. Also adverb, willy-nilly, pell-mell, helter-skelter, and noun, hustle and bustle, hurly-burly, hullabaloo. Editorial Note: This term is common in basketball and other sports, especially in Oklahoma and Texas. Etymological Note: The most likely origin is the guessing game hull-gull, also called hul-gul, huh-guh, ho-go, hulligull, and hully-gully (according to DARE). In the game, one player holds marbles or other small objects in the hands and repeats “hull gull, hand full” or a similar expression. Another player guesses how many are being held. If guessing right, the guesser gets to keep all the marbles. If guessing wrong, the guesser owes marbles to the holder. This game is also probably the origin of the name of the hully-gully dance style that appeared at least as early as December 10, 1961, when it was introduced on the Ed Sullivan show. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A listener in Lorain, Ohio, wonders about the origin of the terms happy and happiness. Both come from an older word hap, meaning “chance” or “luck,” also the source of happen, mishap, hapless, happenstance, happy-go-lucky, and perhaps. Language...
Melissa in Charlotte, North Carolina, remembers her grandfather would describe something excellent as better than snuff, but not near as dusty. The snuff in this case refers to finely ground smokeless tobacco. It arose at a time when snuff was...
Also popularised by the Beach Boys:
http://www.lyricstime.com/beach-boys-hully-gully-lyrics.html
from the album _Beach Boys Party_ 1965
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