jakeloo, adj. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

jakeloo adj.

also jackaloo, jakealoo, jake-a-pie, jakerloo

[jake adj.¹; note A.G. Pretty (ed.), Glossary Of Slang [...] in the A.I.F. 1921–1924 (1924) (rev. t/s): ‘ jakerloo or jake. “Jake” was in use before the war, in Australia by drivers & others to indicate that the load and harness were secure and everything ready for a start. It was also used to indicate that all was well with the speaker. The addition of the last two syllables appear to have been made in the A.I.F. abroad; perhaps the outcome of the observation by certain members of the “force” of the “Bakerloo”, the name of the underground railway that connected Waterloo station with Baker Street, both in London. Some contend that the term was introduced on the Western Front by the Canadians and that it is a relic of the French Revolution when the plotters were known as “Jaques 1”, “Jaques 2” etc. in order to avoid detection’]

(Aus./N.Z.) excellent, wonderful, very good.

1918		Aussie (France) VIII Oct. 9/2: This soup will be jake-a-pie with them young uns [i.e. onions] in it.
1918		E.G. Dodd diary 24 Jan. 🌐 Marriott and myself went to Barts side everything jackaloo.
1919		W.H. Downing Digger Dialects 29: jake-aloo — See jake.
1922		Sun. Times (Perth, WA) 29 Oct. 35/7: Let every flapper have a string of pearls around her neck. But cultured pearls! Well, wouldn’t they be just as jakealoo.
1927		P. Kerby Beyond the Bund 26: Evidently my particular brand of boot polish met with his approbation, for he wagged his tail and emitted a few playful barks. ‘Jakeloo digger!’.
1933		(ref. to 1890–1910) L.G.D. Acland Early Canterbury Runs (1951) 383: Jakerloo, Jake – All right, comfortably placed.
1936		N. Marsh Death in Ecstasy 211: It’ll all come out what the Australians call ‘jakealoo’.
1946		P.L. Soljak N.Z. 115: Colloquialisms common to New Zealand and Australian English [...] jake, jakealoo: certainly, O.K.
1948		Argus (Melbourne) 31 Jan. 14: They can’t put my weight up to the dick’s then, can they? An’ everythin’s jakeloo.
1951		D. Stivens Jimmy Brockett 46: ‘It’s jakerloo,’ Len told me. ‘The reporters turned up.’ ‘That’s good,’ I said.
1968		S. Gore Holy Smoke 80: The least you could do now is give some sorta guarantee that me and me Mum and Dad’ll be jakealoo, when the invasion starts.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 115: jake, she’s Reassurance that everything is fine. Early C20 ANZ and America, possibly Scottish dialect jake-easy. Elaborated ANZ in she’ll be jake, jakaloo/jakerloo/tray jake, the last playing on French tres meaning ‘very’.
2004		E. Weiner Drop Dead, My Lovely (2005) 109: He’ll can the spicy patter and everything’ll be jakeloo.