Am I A 'Toff'?

Damn Art, I had to look that one up. LOL. 1.

Toff

Wearer of only Ralph Lauren polo shirts, usualy worn inside with loafers and torn up jeans half down their trousers, with 3day old boxers on underneath

Always found drinking jugs of pims brought by daddy or mummy at the local Hunt Ball, or pints of Bitter with their pals in there local underage pub. Listen to songs like 'Roxanne by Sting' or the Top Gun soundtrack.

Went to Public School paid for by daddy

I've been working under the assumption that you have a shit ton of money... So it's possible.

That said, you seem fairly down to earth.

You zany Canadians with your strange vocabulary ;-)

I have never heard anyone use the word "toff." I know what it means because I've read a lot of British fiction. But I would expect you to dress well when you're not at the drill site.

Art, I was stumped when I first read this. That was a brand new word to me. Thank you, shadowcat for the meaning. As I said the other day, Art, we have only met the once, but, no, you didn't come across as a " toff ". What I saw was a smart,kind, and funny guy, a handsome guy that I enjoyed talking with at Bogarts that afternoon.

thegrove-w210.blogspot.com

Anyone who knows what "Toff" stands for w/o looking it up is suspect of being a fucking toff (acronym ftoff). And in what fucking country do strippers talk like that? :-)

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.

I though that it was short for toffee. Which would mean that farmerart is sweet. :)

@steve3003,

This stripper spoke with an English accent in a Calgary club so she was unusal, indeed.

@lopaw,

Canadians....zany vocabulary....? For me it is you Americans that have the strange vocabulary. We speak the Queen's English (and the old King's French) in Canada. That language you characters speak south of the 49th parallel really puzzles me sometimes.

@steve229,

I knew I could count on you to dredge up a link such as that one.

For what it is worth, 'toff' to me means an upper class moneyed fop - something that I assure everyone that I am not. I am the descendant of horney-handed Scandinavian peasants, raised on a farm, no education (but I read many many books). Got my hands dirty all my life to make a buck or two.

I was sorely insulted when that stripper called me a toff.

French in Quebec to France is much like English in the US is to England.

fa,

You are without a doubt a Toff! Even though I've never heard the term, met you, or have a lot of concern either way. The very fact that you look to vm for support and know him, well that says it all and you make the Toff honor roll!

NO wait!!! I know vm as well and have required his support.

fa,

Welcom3 to Toff United! :)

"This stripper spoke with an English accent in a Calgary club so she was unusal, indeed."

Hope she's not one of them Oxford educated foreign strippers that are gonna migrate south cause of the ban. Only motorhead would understand her SS.

vincemichaels slips $100 to Clubber quietly so farmerart doesn't see it. :)

I used to think of you as the anti-toff (now that I know what the word means) but I've never actually met you. My previous mental image of you was of a guy in work boots, hard hat and jeans covered in drilling mud carrying a section of pipe to the VIP. Should I adjust my mental image?

^^^^^^^

You crack me up, Ermita_Nights!! Apart from pipe over my shoulder, I have been known to go to the Rig Pig in Nisku, AB dressed exactly as you described. And, for 30+ years that was my regular gear. Not so much now; I am more 'corporate' these days though I will still get 'down and dirty' in the 'tools' when need arises.

fa,

You have something in common with the dancers...

"I will still get 'down and dirty' in the 'tools' when need arises." :)

Remember the topic on names for a woman's body parts?" "Tool" for a man always seemed strange to me.

Lol...loved reading some of these posts. Toffs are looked down on in the U.K. I say U.K. but really it's England and more specifically exclusive areas of London and the home counties. Toffs are publicly educated people from a priviliged background born with a silver spoon in their mouths and have no comprehension of the real world. Invariably they go to Oxford or Cambridge and land jobs with mummy or daddy and paid exhorbitant sums of money beyond their skill set.

Londonguy,

I am glad you commented. I do have a question: in some articles I read - and you - used the term "publicly educated". In the States, we would generally view "public" universities as a step below "private" universities.

Our public universities are schools that receive state tax dollars and have lower tuition rates. Schools such as Michigan State, Ohio State, the University of Texas, fall into that category. Some are excellent schools. (California- Berkeley, The Univesity of Virginia) but are not in the class as private schools - Yale, Harvard, Stanford, or Dartmouth).

I'm confused why the elite, prestigious schools are referred to a "public".

Thanks

First them greeks, spaniards, and now the fucking english toffs. What's up with all that shit at barclays further dragging the sputtering economy down? Only good thing coming out of england in a long fucking while is Chelsea who kicked them spaniard and German asses. Wait there's only a few good english players on that russian owned squad. Shouldda let them broads (i love them english lasses) run their country instead of them pussy whipped sorry excuse for males. That includes you londonguy and your bloody toff london pals.

@londonguy,

And you - old Etonian, Harrovian? Your college - Balliol, New, Trinity?

That stripper who used the word when chatting with me did have a rather plummy accent. Is the term 'Sloane Ranger' still used in England? 'Gells' can be toffs, can't they?

I’ve read many of your posts. Per your impressive vocabulary and the elegant way you express yourself, I would say that you would fit the definition; i.e. “a member of the upper class”.

@ motorhead...I understand how you think it a contradictory phrase. Let me explain. The school that I and the vast majority of kids went to was paid for out of taxes, these schools are called 'state' schools as the 'state' pays for them. Public refers to them being paid for by individuals through very high fees. In state schools parents don't pay any fees at point of use.

@ farmerart...'sloane ranger' was a fashionable term for posh girls that lived and 'worked' in the Chelsea and surrounding areas of West London. It's rarely used by anyone know. Yes, girls can be toffs but the term is more associated with a guy.

@ steve 3003...Chelsea only have 2/3 English guys in the team usually. As for Barclays, they are bankers and bankers are the same the world over.