- published: 16 Aug 2009
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TTFN is an initialism for a colloquial valediction, 'ta ta for now', based on 'ta ta', an informal 'goodbye', approximately equivalent to 'bye bye' but in an easier meaning it means 'goodbye for now'. The expression came to prominence, in the UK, during the Second World War. Used by the military, it was frequently heard by the British public.
"Ta-ta for now" was brought into popular use in the UK in 1940 in the weekly radio comedy It's That Man Again by the character Mrs Mopp, who ended every scene with it. During the second series, the show's name was shortened to ITMA, to satirize the abundance of abbreviations that were becoming common knowledge due to the ongoing war.
In the 1966 Batman television episode "Better Luck Next Time", Catwoman says TTFN, and then has to explain the meaning to Batman.
In Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, a 1968 Disney featurette, the voice of Tigger was performed by Paul Winchell, whose wife Jean Freeman suggested that he ad-lib the line. It was further used by Tigger in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1988–1991), often followed by a "hoo hoo hoo hoo!" as he bounces away on his tail. However, the phrase does not appear in the original books by A. A. Milne.