Razzle-dazzle

An echoic, rhyming compound based on the word dazzle. Razzle-dazzle is originally an American expression and dates from c.1890 but it had soon crossed the Atlantic to Britain and other English-speaking countries by the end of the 19th century. Razzle-dazzle means a spree, a jollity, excitement or a showy, shining performance. During the early 20th century, similar words deriving from razzle-dazzle and meaning more or less the same thing started to appear. Razzamatazz or razzmatazz appeared in America around 1917 and to go ‘on the razzle’ or ‘on the razz’, which means to go out for a good time, made its appearance in Britain a few years later.