[toi] 
,| 1. | an object, often a small representation of something familiar, as an animal or person, for children or others to play with; plaything. |
| 2. | a thing or matter of little or no value or importance; a trifle. |
| 3. | something that serves for or as if for diversion, rather than for serious pratical use. |
| 4. | a small article of little value but prized as a souvenir or for some other special reason; trinket; knickknack; bauble. |
| 5. | something diminutive, esp. in comparison with like objects. |
| 6. | an animal of a breed or variety noted for smallness of size: The winning terrier at the dog show was a toy. |
| 7. | a close-fitting cap of linen or wool, with flaps coming down to the shoulders, formerly worn by women in Scotland. |
| 8. | a simple, light piece of music, esp. of 16th or 17th century England, written for the virginal. |
| 9. | Obsolete.
|
| 10. | made or designed for use as a toy: a toy gun. |
| 11. | of or resembling a toy, esp. diminutive in size. |
| 12. | to amuse oneself; play. |
| 13. | to act idly; or with indifference; trifle: to toy with one's food. |
| 14. | to dally amorously; flirt. |
| toy (toi) n.
[Middle English toye, amorous play, a piece of fun.] |
"If he be merie and toy with any,
His wife will frowne, and words geve manye."
["Song of the Bachelor's Life," 16c.]
toy
A computer system; always used with qualifiers.
1. "nice toy": One that supports the speaker's hacking style adequately.
2. "just a toy": A machine that yields insufficient computrons for the speaker's preferred uses. This is not condemnatory, as is bitty box; toys can at least be fun. It is also strongly conditioned by one's expectations; Cray XMP users sometimes consider the Cray-1 a "toy", and certainly all RISC boxes and mainframes are toys by their standards. See also Get a real computer!.
[The Jargon File]
