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toff

 - 3 dictionary results

toff

  [tof]
Use toff in a Sentence
–noun British Informal.
a stylishly dressed, fashionable person, esp. one who is or wants to be considered a member of the upper class.
Origin:
1850–55; perh. var. of tuft
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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toff   (tŏf)   
n.   Chiefly British Slang
A member of the upper classes, especially one who is elegantly dressed: "champagne, once a raffish drink suitable for toffs and weddings" (Ian Jack).

[Probably variant of tuft, a gold tassel worn by titled students at Oxford and Cambridge.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

toff 
lower-class British slang for "stylish dresser, member of the smart set," 1851, probably an alteration of tuft, formerly an Oxford Univ. term for a nobleman or gentleman-commoner (1755), in ref. to the gold ornamental tassel worn on the caps of undergraduates at Oxford and Cambridge whose fathers were peers with votes in the House of Lords.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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