Hullabaloo

A tumultuous uproar or clamorous confusion dates from the mid-18th century and has appeared in many different spelling variations since the currently accepted hullabaloo, such as hallooballoo, hulloobulloo, etc. The origin is obscure. The OED opts for ‘northerly sources’ with possible connection to hurly-burly while others maintain it is originally Scottish. Baloo is Scottish dialect for lullaby but quite how a lullaby became part of a tumultuous uproar is anybody’s guess. Some sources maintain that it derives from an old hunting cry but there is no real hard evidence for any of these.