Up the boohai

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Meaning

In a remote, out-of-the-way or vaguely unknown place. Informal and comic. Boohai has several historical spellings, reflecting the reshaping of the place name in speech. Regional use: New Zealand.

Origin

Boohai is a popular reshaping of Puhoi, a settlement north of Auckland founded by Bohemian immigrants in 1863. Its historic isolation helped the place name become a joking destination meaning far away or nowhere in particular. Later comic elaborations add impossible activities such as shooting pukeko with a long-handled shovel.

Variants

  • Up Boohai
  • Up Puhoi
  • Up the boohai shooting pukeko
  • Gone boohai

Usage Examples

  • The courier left our parcel up the boohai instead of at the front desk.
  • We took one wrong turn and ended up somewhere up Boohai with no phone signal.

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