oodles, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

oodles n.

also oodlins, oudles

[ety. unknown, though suggestions include a shortening of the whole boodle (DSUE), a huddle or close-packed group (Webster), which presumes that the var. oodlins comes from huddling, pressing together in a group. Cohen (1985) rejects these: such huddle/huddling refer mainly to animals, oodles/oddlins to people, and suggests a simple abbr. of scadoodles/scadoodlin’]

(orig. US) a large amount, a great quantity (occas. in sing.).

1867		G.W. Harris ‘Saul Spradlin’s Ghost’ Chattanooga Daily Amer. Union 31 Oct. in Inge (1967) 176: I cum to tell ’im ’bout the brilein chickins an’ coffee an’ oodils ove flour.
1879		letter 27 Apr. in T. Hughes Gone To Texas (1884) 86: Thank heaven the rain’s come at last; as Willy says, ‘oodles of it!’.
1883		Sweet & Knox On a Mexican Mustang, Through Texas 152: ‘You haff some cattles, then?’ ‘Oh, yes! oodles of ’em.’.
1899		Ade Fables in Sl. (1902) 78: ‘Oh, rats! Not on your Tintype, I’m too strong to work,’ replied Jethro, who had learned Oodles of slang up in Chicago, don’t you forget it.
1902		Ade Breaking Into Society (1904) 140: We shall have Oodles of Fun to-morrow.
1912		R.W. Brown ‘Word-List From Western Indiana’ in DN III:viii 547: dead oodlins, n. Quantities, especially great quantities. ‘Why, there are dead oodlins of them on our trees.’.
1922		Parody on ‘Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep’ in T.W. Talley Negro Folk Rhymes 115: Uh-huh: Now I lays me down to sleep! – / While dead oudles o’ bedbugs ’round me creep.
1929		E. Dahlberg Bottom Dogs 102: They were all making oodles of money, making it by the pile.
1930		E. Glyn Flirt and Flapper 31: If they fancy another girl they’ve got to pay us oodles of money to divorce them.
1939		R. Chandler ‘Pearls Are a Nuisance’ in Spanish Blood (1946) 105: Some mug finds out lady Penruddock has a string of oyster fruit worth oodles of kale.
1942		in G. Legman Limerick (1953) 7: There was a young lady of fashion / Who had oodles and oodles of passion.
1951		J.D. Salinger Catcher in the Rye (1958) 138: We have oodles of time to do those things.
1969		P. Theroux Murder in Mount Holly (1999) 52: ‘Oodles of spunk left,’ Miss Ball interjected. ‘Oodles.’.
1978		R. Caron Go-Boy! 209: My handsome kid brother who was still going to high school and who had oodles of girlfriends.
1981		G. Tate ‘Knee Deep in Blood Ulmer’ in Flyboy in the Buttermilk (1992) 19: In between he strings oodles of cryptic licks that noodle towards unorthodox and unsettling pattern shifts.
1984		Benjamin & Pearl Limericks Down Under 97: But by using his noodle, / He’s oodles of boodle.
1998		Source Oct. 202: They’ll put oodles and oodles of money into a bullshit alternative band.
2006		D. Mitchell Black Swan Green 1233: Julia’s told us oodles about you.