Toff

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In British English slang, a toff is a derogatory stereotype for someone with an aristocratic background or belonging to the landed gentry, particularly someone who exudes an air of superiority. For instance, The Toff, a character from the series of adventure novels by John Creasey, is an upper-class crime sleuth who uses a common caricature of a toff – a line drawing with a top hat,

In Australia this is known as monocle, bow-tie and cigarette with a holder – as his calling card. Hoorah Henry has a similar meaning.

Etymology

The word "toff" is thought to come from the word "tuft", which was a gold tassel worn by titled undergraduates at the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge.[1][2][3][4][5] The Anglo-Saxon word "toforan" has a meaning of "superiority".[6] It is possible the derivation of "toff" is earlier than is generally supposed.

See also

References

  1. Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford 1969
  2. "toff". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  3. "toff". The Free Dictionary.
  4. "toff". WordReference.com.
  5. "toff". Dictionary.com.
  6. Albert Jack. (2011.) It's a Wonderful Word: The Real Origins of Our Favourite Words, Random House, p. 151.
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