In British English slang, a toff is a mildly derogatory term 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, monocle, bow-tie and cigarette with a holder - as his calling card.
[edit] Etymology
The word "toff" is thought to come from the word "tuft", which was a gold tassel worn by titled undergraduates at Oxford University or Cambridge University.[1] The Anglo-Saxon word "toforan" has a meaning of "superiority". It is possible the derivation of "toff" is earlier than is generally supposed.
Other origins include the abbreviation of "toffee-nosed"[citation needed] This originates from the 19th century, where it was common for men of a higher class to use snuff. The use of snuff often caused the men's nose to leak a toffee-like nasal mucus.[opinion] The men are thought to have tilted their heads slightly upwards to counteract this and from this action people would say "stuck up".[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford 1969
