TTFN is an

initialism An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps wi ...

for "

ta ta Tata or TATA may refer to: Places * Jamshedpur, a city in Jharkhand, India also known as Tatanagar or Tata * Tata, Hungary, a town in Hungary * Tata Islands, a pair of small islands off the coast of New Zealand * Tata, Morocco, a city in Ta ...

for now", an informal "goodbye". The expression came to prominence in the UK during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Used by the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

, it was frequently heard by the British public. "TTFN" was introduced in 1940 in the British weekly radio comedy ''

It's That Man Again ''It's That Man Again'' (commonly contracted to ''ITMA'') was a BBC radio comedy programme which ran for twelve series from 1939 to 1949. The shows featured Tommy Handley in the central role, a fast-talking figure, around whom the other ch ...

'' 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.

Other usage

In the 1966 ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' television episode "Better Luck Next Time",

Catwoman Catwoman is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, she debuted as "the Cat" in ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' #1 (spring 1940). She has become one of the superhero Batman' ...

(played by the actress

Julie Newmar Julie Newmar (born Julia Chalene Newmeyer; August 16, 1933) is an American actress, dancer, and singer known for a variety of stage, screen, and television roles. She is also a writer, lingerie designer, and real estate Business magnate, mogul. ...

) states "TTFN" in a microphone to Batman (

Adam West William West Anderson (September 19, 1928 – June 9, 2017), known professionally as Adam West, was an American actor. He portrayed Batman in the 1960s ABC series of the same name and its 1966 theatrical feature film, reprising the role in ...

) while he is high upon a wall while being stalked by her tiger, Tinkerbell, and then she has to further explain the meaning of the initialism to the puzzled Batman. In ''

Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day ''Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day'' is a 1968 American animated musical fantasy short film based on the third, fifth, ninth, and tenth chapters of ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' and the second, eighth, and ninth chapters from '' The House at Pooh Corn ...

'', a 1968 Disney featurette, the voice of

Tigger Tigger is a fictional character in A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books and their adaptations. An anthropomorphic toy tiger, he was originally introduced in the 1928-story collection ''The House at Pooh Corner'', the sequel to the 1926 book ''Wi ...

was performed by

Paul Winchell Paul Winchell (''Birth name, né'' Wilchinsky; December 21, 1922 – June 24, 2005) was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, humanitarian, and inventor whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1950 to 1954, he hosted ''The Pa ...

, whose wife Jean Freeman suggested that he

ad-lib In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The roughly synonymous phrase ('in acc ...

the line. It was further used by Tigger in ''

The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ''The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh'' is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Based on the ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' books by authors A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard, ''The New Adventures'' was the ...

'' (1988–1991), often followed by a "hoo hoo hoo hoo!" as he bounces away on his tail. Tigger also uses variations of the word, in the episode ''Tigger is the Mother of Invention'' he says "TTFG. Ta-ta for good", and in

The Tigger Movie ''The Tigger Movie'' is a 2000 American animated Musical film, musical comedy-drama film produced by Disney Television Animation, Walt Disney Television Animation with animation production by Walt Disney Animation Japan. The film was written and ...

"TTFE. Ta-ta For Ever". However, the phrase does not appear in the original books by

A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winnie-th ...

. It appears in the 1980 children's book 'Quest for the Gloop' by Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski

Tim Horton Miles Gilbert "Tim" Horton (January 12, 1930 – February 21, 1974) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 24 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He spent the majority of his career playing for the Toronto Maple ...

, the deceased professional hockey player and founder of the Tim Horton's Doughnut chain, has "TTFN" on his grave stone. On the sitcom ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typi ...

'', the character Endora used the phrase TTFN before vanishing into thin air. "Ta ta for now" caught on with the British public so much that it was often uttered by dying people as their last words. It has been the catchphrase of radio personalities such as Jimmy Young, who modified it to BFN: "Bye for now". In the 1990s, TTFN was still being used in online chat such as

IRC IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a text-based chat system for instant messaging. IRC is designed for group communication in discussion forums, called '' channels'', but also allows one-on-one communication via private messages as well as chat ...

and

MUD Mud (, or Middle Dutch) is loam, silt or clay mixed with water. Mud is usually formed after rainfall or near water sources. Ancient mud deposits hardened over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone (generally cal ...

s.talk mode
in the

Jargon File The Jargon File is a glossary and usage dictionary of slang used by computer programmers. The original Jargon File was a collection of terms from technical cultures such as the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, MIT AI Lab ...

v.2.9.11, 1 January 1993 The young adult novel '' ttfn'' by

Lauren Myracle Lauren Myracle (born May 15, 1969) is an American writer of young adult fiction. She has written many novels, including the three best-selling "IM" books, ''ttyl (novel), ttyl'', ''ttfn (novel), ttfn'' and ''l8r, g8r''. Her book ''Thirteen Plus O ...

was released in 2005. The frequently challenged novel is written entirely in the style of instant messaging.

References

{{Reflist Parting phrases Initialisms