Can someone tell me the origins of the expression .'Got to billeo!' My mother used to say it when she was mad.

Question

I'm from Sydney Australia and my friends mum's would say this as well when they were angry.

Sorry typo I mean 'Go to billeo'

Answer 1

You can find a lot of info on this by searching for a different spelling: "billyo"
It is kind of like saying "get lost" or "go to hell".
See the sources below.

Answer 2

Billy-o entered the English language in the late 19th century after the Rainhill steam locomotive trials between Liverpool and Manchester. These had gripped the public's imagination. Engineer George Stephenson's Puffing Billy gave rise to the expressions "running (or puffing) like Billy-o". The Puffing Billy type of "infernal combustion engine", belching steam, smoke and fire, must have appeared Dante-esque to spectators in an era of horsepower and hence its association with hell. So billyo became a general pseudonym for things hellish and useful in genteel or young company, where something could be said to "hurt like billy-o" or one could invite someone to "go to billy-o" without corrupting or offending - except, perhaps, one's target.

Answer 3

Billeo