Wednesday's Random Slang-o-rama: Foofooraw

Today's exuberant expression has many possible spellings: foofooraw, fofarraw, foo-foo-rah, foofaraw...

So, just what is it?

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Let us cut to the chase, with the help of American Slang, Second Edition edited by Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D. It is, according to this reference, a "Western" expression, in use by 1848, with a number of meanings:

1. A loud disturbance; uproar
2. Gaudy clothing and accessories, esp. the latter
3. Ostentation; proud show

Not too shabby, eh? (In fact, not shabby at all!)
I expect foofooraw will find a way to sneak into the next book (drafting to commence soon!) in the Silver Rush series...

Looks like a foofooraw to me! Cartoon published in Punch (May 1912) on the Taft-Roosevelt quarrel. “The President and the ex-President, the latter dressed as a cowboy, are having a fierce mix-up in a saloon. Both are at close grips. Mr. Taft is trying to stick his former friend with a bowie knife, and Mr. Roosevelt is letting fly with a six-shooter.
Uncle Sam, philosophically watching the scrap, says ‘Well, I guess old friends are best.’”