"tulies" citation from Double-Tongued Dictionary

Catchword: tulies

Gloss: the boondocks or the middle of nowhere.

Note: Out in the tules/tules means “out in the boondocks” or “far away.” Encarta says that “to be in deep tules” is a Hispanic English expression meaning “to be in trouble with the law.” Another spelling is “tules,” plural form of “tule,” pronounced TOO-lee, which is a type of Californian bulrush and the origin of the term. The expression is most common in the American southwest, including California.

Filed Under: English, United States, Colloquial

Part of Speech: n.pl.

Quotation: The dirt road might as well be called Old Rutted—it’s that rough—but McCullough doesn’t seem to mind. At 75, the snowy-haired scientist still loves driving his giant 4x4 into the wilderness—the “tulies,” as he calls them—and getting out to hike through the spiny desert.

Article or Document Title:
“Mapping the Border” (URL)

Author:
Margaret Regan

Article, Document, Publication, Web Site:
Tucson Weekly

Publishing Location:
Arizona

Date of Publication:
Oct. 4, 2007

This catchword has yet to be researched.

Posted 11 Oct 07 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Comments:

The term ‘tulies’ originated in the USAF, a reference to Thule Air Base, Thule, Greenland (owned by Denmark), one of the most desolate outposts in the world. The term was in common use in the middle 60s, originally meaning the middle of nowhere, and later equivalent to ‘the sticks’. Look for Thule AB at: 76.5303,-68.7031
by Lemon Curry 11 Oct 07, 0300 GMT

Sorry, no. There’s no evidence whatsoever that it comes from an Air Force base. That, in fact, cannot be true as the expression is older than the Air Force itself. As stated above, it comes from the name for a type of bulrushes.
by Grant Barrett 11 Oct 07, 0328 GMT

You don’t think it’s a reference to ultima thule, which is “any distant place located beyond the borders of the known world” as Wikipedia puts it?
by Reader 12 Oct 07, 0701 GMT

How about this usage: “out in the toolies” was a phrase common when I was growing up in 70’s Salt Lake City, Utah. It was used in my family to mean “way the hell out beyond the fringes of civilization,” otherwise known as Toole, Utah. At least, I always understood the phrase to refer to Toole, which is pronounced “Too-willuh.”

The town is located southwest of Salt Lake on the edge of the Oquirrh Mountains. Toole County contains a whole lot of desolate desert and the Toole Chemical Agent Disposal Facility. According to Wikipedia, Wendover Air Force Base was there, as well as the infamous Toole Army Depot.

I wonder if any Air Force or Army personnel based at Toole might have had a hand in coining “out in the toolies?”

by ginny 13 Oct 07, 0740 GMT