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Toff

A toff is British slang for a stylishly dressed or otherwise conspicuous member of the upper class, often implying snobbery or affectation.^[1]^[2] The term originated in the mid-19th century as lower-class London slang, likely derived from "tuft," a reference to the gold tassels worn on academic caps by titled undergraduates at Oxford and Cambridge universities, marking their aristocratic status.^[2]^[3] By the Victorian era, "toff" had evolved into a pejorative label for the wealthy elite, contrasting sharply with working-class perspectives and highlighting social divides in British society.^[1] Its usage persists in modern British English, frequently in political or cultural discourse to critique perceived privilege, as seen in references to "toff" politicians or public figures embodying upper-class mannerisms.^[3] While sometimes neutral in describing fashion or refinement, the word carries an inherent class-based disdain, reflecting historical tensions between social strata rather than objective descriptors of achievement or merit.^[1]

Etymology and Origins

Linguistic Derivation

The term "toff" originated as a phonetic and orthographic alteration of "tuft," a slang expression used at Oxford University from around 1755 to refer to titled noblemen or undergraduates who sported gold tassels on their mortarboard caps as a mark of aristocratic status.^[1] This derivation reflects a process of slang abbreviation and vowel shift common in British English vernacular, where "tuft" denoted the ornamental cluster of threads forming the tassel, itself borrowed from Middle English "tuffte" (a lock or bunch of hair or threads) ultimately tracing to Old French "tufte."^[4] By the mid-19th century, specifically with its first recorded use in 1851, "toff" had emerged independently to describe a fashionably attired upper-class man, extending beyond university contexts to broader social commentary on dandified elites.^[2] Linguistically, the shift from "tuft" to "toff" likely involved an intermediate form "toft," a variant attested in dialectal slang, facilitating the loss of the intervocalic "u" and simplification for colloquial pronunciation among working-class speakers observing elite dress.^[3] This evolution parallels other British slang transformations, such as the rhyming or clipping mechanisms seen in terms like "toff" deriving from visual or auditory associations with privilege, without direct ties to alternative folk etymologies like "top-hat" or "puff" (a dandy's affected manner), which lack substantiation in historical lexicons.^[5] The OED traces the noun "toff" to 1851 in British informal usage, confirming its roots in this academic slang without evidence of pre-18th-century precedents or non-English borrowings.^[5]

Earliest Recorded Uses

The earliest recorded instance of "toff" occurs in Henry Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor (1851), where it denotes a well-dressed gentleman in the slang of London's working-class street traders, such as costermongers. In Volume I, a crossing-sweeper recounts dividing potential customers by calling out phrases like "Two toffs!" for approaching gentlemen, emphasizing the term's association with affluent passersby perceived as marks for alms or sales.^[1]^[6] This usage captures "toff" as lower-class London vernacular for a stylish or upper-class male, distinct from earlier Oxford student slang like "tuft" for titled undergraduates.^[1] Subsequent citations in the 1850s, including in Mayhew's broader accounts of urban poverty, reinforce this initial application, with "toff" paired terms like "doll" for a lady, highlighting its role in demarcating social hierarchies through hawker cries.^[7] No earlier attestations appear in surviving print sources, establishing 1851 as the term's first documented emergence in English literature.^[8]

Historical Evolution

19th-Century Emergence

The term "toff" emerged in mid-19th-century British slang, with its earliest recorded use appearing in 1851 in Henry Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor, a seminal survey of London's working classes, where it was glossed in a costermongers' vocabulary as denoting a "gentleman."^[6]^[9] Mayhew's documentation captured the argot of street traders and laborers amid the social upheavals of industrialization, where the word encapsulated resentment toward visible markers of upper-class affluence, such as fine attire and leisure, in contrast to the precarity of urban poverty. This usage reflected broader Victorian class tensions, as economic expansion widened gaps between the laboring masses and a burgeoning bourgeoisie and aristocracy frequenting London's public spaces.^[8] Etymological origins remain debated, with one prevailing hypothesis linking "toff" to "tuft," the gold tassel on academic caps worn by titled students at Oxford and Cambridge, symbolizing inherited privilege and potentially entering slang via interactions between town and gown.^[10] However, direct linguistic evidence for this connection predating 1851 is lacking, and the term's initial attestation in proletarian contexts suggests organic evolution from phonetic or observational distortions rather than elite university jargon. By the 1850s and 1860s, "toff" had solidified as a pejorative for stylishly dressed swells or dandies, appearing in slang dictionaries as a term for aristocrats or the well-to-do, often implying superficial elegance detached from productive labor.^[11] Throughout the latter 19th century, the word proliferated in popular literature and glossaries, underscoring its role in critiquing social hierarchy during an era of reform movements and imperial expansion. Victorian slang compilations defined it as an "elegantly or stylishly dressed gentleman," highlighting its focus on outward displays of wealth amid debates over meritocracy and inherited status.^[12] This period saw "toff" gain traction in urban narratives, from Punch magazine satires to coster ballads, where it mocked the perceived idleness of the elite against the toil of the masses, though without the overt political radicalism of terms like "swell." Its endurance into the fin de siècle evidenced persistent class consciousness, even as new wealth challenged traditional aristocracy.^[7]

20th-Century Shifts in Usage

In the early 20th century, particularly during World War I, "toff" was invoked in British literature and soldier accounts to underscore class disparities, often contrasting working-class troops with perceived elite officers or civilians who evaded frontline hardships. For instance, in wartime narratives, the term recalled pre-war social pretensions, as when an uncle's use of "toff" evoked his own past aspirations to genteel status amid shifting wartime egalitarianism.^[13] This reflected heightened class antagonism, with the word serving as shorthand for out-of-touch privilege in trenches where titled undergraduates—echoing the term's etymological link to Oxford "tufts"—contrasted sharply with enlisted men.^[14] By the interwar period (1918–1939), "toff" solidified in slang dictionaries and novels as a label for dandified swells or aristocratic types, extending beyond mere fashion to critique perceived snobbery amid economic upheaval like the 1926 General Strike. Evelyn Waugh's Oxford contemporaries used it to describe corduroy-clad elites flouting social norms, blending derision with cultural satire in a era of fading Edwardian excess.^[15] Related compounds like "toffee-nosed," first attested around 1914, emerged to denote supercilious attitudes, implying the elevated "nose" of the haughty upper crust, thus amplifying the term's pejorative reach into descriptors of arrogance rather than just appearance.^[10] Post-World War II, amid the 1945 Labour landslide and welfare state reforms, "toff" persisted in military films and political discourse as a foil to meritocratic ideals, decrying "old toffs" who embodied pre-war hierarchies resistant to democratization. Usage frequency in media and everyday speech increased with mass literacy and television, but the core denotation—derogatory upper-class stereotype—endured without semantic inversion, even as absolute deference waned; by mid-century, it targeted not just aristocrats but aspirational middle-class mimics, reflecting broader cultural leveling while retaining working-class bite.^[16] This stability contrasted with evolving class mobility, where the term's edge critiqued lingering inequalities rather than vanishing elites.

Definitions and Connotations

Core Meaning

In British English slang, a "toff" denotes a person from the upper social classes, typically marked by wealth, elegant attire, and an aura of sophistication or exclusivity. The term carries a connotation of disapproval, implying snobbery, pretentiousness, or detachment from everyday working-class concerns, and is frequently employed by those outside elite circles to critique perceived social superiority.^[3]^[17]^[18] This core usage distinguishes "toff" from neutral descriptors of affluence, emphasizing subjective class antagonism rather than objective economic status alone; for instance, it may apply to both inherited aristocrats and self-made individuals who adopt upper-class mannerisms. While occasionally neutral or even admiring in niche contexts (e.g., among Oxford undergraduates historically), contemporary applications overwhelmingly reflect pejorative intent, as evidenced by dictionary notations of informality and disdain.^[19]^[3] The word's persistence in modern parlance underscores enduring British sensitivities to class markers, without implying inherent moral failing in the subject but highlighting the speaker's resentment toward elite exclusivity.^[17]^[18]

Variations in Positive and Negative Interpretations

The term "toff" is most commonly interpreted negatively in British English, denoting an upper-class person viewed as snobbish, pretentious, or socially aloof, often with undertones of resentment from working-class or middle-class speakers toward perceived elitism.^[19]^[3] This pejorative sense derives from historical associations with "toffee-nosed," implying affected superiority, as in the image of upper-class individuals with refined manners or attire that lower classes found ostentatious.^[20]^[14] Negative connotations persist in modern usage, where "toff" stereotypes the wealthy as out-of-touch or disdainful, reinforced by class-based critiques in media and politics; for instance, it has been applied derisively to public school-educated elites exhibiting what is seen as performative sophistication.^[17]^[14] Such interpretations align with empirical patterns in slang evolution, where terms originating from envy or rivalry solidify as insults over time, evidenced by consistent dictionary listings emphasizing disapproval since the early 20th century.^[3] Positive variations, though less prevalent, appear in contexts where "toff" connotes stylish elegance, bravery, or generosity, particularly in self-referential or admiring uses among the upper classes themselves; some definitions extend it to a "good sort" or smartly dressed individual without inherent scorn.^[20] This affirmative nuance traces to 19th-century origins, when "toff" could neutrally describe a fashionable or well-heeled person, predating its dominant derogatory shift, and occasionally surfaces today in ironic reclamation by those fitting the archetype.^[21] However, these instances remain marginal, as primary lexicographic sources prioritize the critical lens, reflecting broader cultural dynamics where class-signaling terms favor adversarial framing over neutral or laudatory ones.^[19]^[17]

Usage in British Society

In Politics and Media

The term "toff" has been prominently deployed in British political discourse to critique figures associated with elite education and aristocratic backgrounds, often implying detachment from working-class concerns. During David Cameron's tenure as Prime Minister from 2010 to 2016, Labour politicians and left-leaning media outlets frequently applied it to him, citing his upbringing at Eton College and involvement with the Bullingdon Club, an exclusive Oxford dining society known for its affluent, boisterous membership. For instance, in May 2013, a former county council head advised Cameron to emulate UKIP leader Nigel Farage's populist style rather than embodying the "public school toff" image that alienated voters.^[22] This rhetoric underscored class-based attacks, with Cameron's polished demeanor and policy decisions—such as austerity measures post-2008 financial crisis—framed as evidence of upper-class insensitivity.^[23] In parliamentary exchanges and election campaigns, "toff" served as shorthand for Conservative privilege, contrasting with Labour's emphasis on meritocratic or state-educated leaders. Ed Miliband, Labour leader from 2010 to 2015, invoked similar sentiments by portraying Cameron as emblematic of an out-of-touch establishment during Prime Minister's Questions, though the term itself echoed in broader media narratives.^[24] Post-Brexit, the label extended to Boris Johnson, another Eton alumnus who served as Prime Minister from 2019 to 2022, with critics arguing his charisma masked "toff" entitlement amid controversies like the Partygate scandal.^[25] Such usage often amplified perceptions of a political elite insulated from economic hardships, as evidenced in 2010 commentary labeling Cameron an "upper-class twit" amid coalition government formation.^[26] Media coverage has perpetuated "toff" as a pejorative in political analysis, particularly in tabloids and broadsheets highlighting class divides. Outlets like The Mirror employed it in headlines mocking Cameron's image, such as "Toff Cam," tying it to visual symbols like Bullingdon Club photos that resurfaced during elections. Similarly, The Guardian critiqued the return of "toffs" in Conservative leadership, suggesting public apathy masked underlying resentment toward inherited privilege.^[24] While predominantly negative, the term occasionally appeared in neutral or self-deprecating contexts, as with reality television personality Georgia Toffolo—nicknamed "Toff" for her posh persona—who aligned with Conservative outreach efforts in 2018 to appeal to younger voters.^[27] This duality reflects media's role in both weaponizing and commodifying class stereotypes, though empirical data on voter impact remains mixed, with polls showing limited sway over policy preferences.^[28] Left-leaning publications, prone to amplifying anti-elite narratives, dominate such invocations, potentially overstating their representational accuracy given Britain's evolving social mobility metrics.

In Everyday Language and Subcultures

In colloquial British English, "toff" functions as a slang term primarily denoting a person from the upper classes or of considerable wealth, typically invoked with disapproval to imply snobbery, affectation, or social detachment.^[3] The word is often paired with qualifiers like "posh" for emphasis, as in descriptions of public figures exhibiting aristocratic traits, and persists in informal speech to critique perceived elitism.^[29] As of 2025, it conveys an image of someone aristocratic with an air of superiority, rooted in class-based disdain rather than neutral observation.^[30] Within British subcultures, particularly those tied to working-class identities such as chav stereotypes, "toff" operates as a pejorative archetype representing the affluent elite, standing in direct opposition to lower-class personas and underscoring entrenched social divides.^[31] This binary usage appears in cultural events and debates, like 2014 university discussions framed as "Chavs vs. Toffs," where the term highlighted aristocratic privilege amid broader youth explorations of class antagonism.^[32] In such contexts, it reinforces subcultural narratives of resentment toward perceived out-of-touch wealth, though its application can vary from outright derision to ironic commentary on class mimicry in modern media.

Cultural Depictions

Literature and Arts

In British literature, the term "toff" gained prominence through John Creasey's long-running crime fiction series featuring the Honourable Richard Rollison, nicknamed the Toff, an aristocratic amateur sleuth who combats crime with a combination of intellect, resources, and social connections. The series debuted with Introducing the Toff in 1938 and encompassed nearly 60 novels, portraying the Toff as a stylish, upper-class figure navigating underworld threats while upholding gentlemanly standards.^[33]^[34] P.G. Wodehouse employed the term in his comedic novels depicting Edwardian and interwar high society, as in Carry On, Jeeves (1925), where the idle, affluent Bertie Wooster is characterized as a "moneyed young toff" more concerned with sartorial elegance and social frivolities than serious endeavor.^[35] In performing arts, Victorian and Edwardian music halls routinely lampooned toffs as pretentious dandies, with "lions comiques" performers donning top hats, monocles, and tails to parody elite luxuries like champagne and cigars in satirical songs, such as "La-Di-Da!, or, The City Toff," which mocked the affected mannerisms of city swells slumming among the working classes.^[36]^[37] The visual arts captured toffs through stark class contrasts, notably in Jimmy Sime's 1937 photograph "Toffs and Toughs," which juxtaposed formally attired Harrow schoolboys—emblems of toff privilege—with ragged working-class lads on a seaside promenade, encapsulating pre-World War II social divides in a single, enduring image.^[38]

Photography and Visual Media

One of the most emblematic photographic depictions of the "toff" stereotype is the 1937 image titled Toffs and Toughs, captured by amateur photographer Jimmy Napes on Lowestoft beach in Suffolk, England. The photograph features five boys posed together: two affluent siblings, Peter and Tim Utting, dressed in the formal Harrow School uniforms of waistcoats, ties, top hats, boutonnières, and carrying canes, positioned beside three local working-class boys in knickerbockers, open-necked shirts, and flat caps.^[38] This stark visual contrast encapsulated the rigid class divisions of interwar Britain, with the toffs embodying refined privilege and the toughs representing proletarian roughness.^[39] The image's significance lies in its unintended role as a shorthand for social inequality, widely reproduced in subsequent decades to underscore economic disparities and cultural snobbery associated with upper-class attire and demeanor.^[40] Despite the Utting brothers' later modest careers—one as a teacher and the other in insurance—the photograph persisted as a critique of inherited status, influencing discussions on class resentment without the subjects' awareness of its broader interpretive legacy.^[41] In visual media beyond photography, toffs appear in British satirical cartoons and illustrations, often exaggerated with monocles, tailcoats, and sneering expressions to lampoon elitism, as seen in historical prints from magazines like Punch and modern stock caricatures.^[42] Contemporary films extend this tradition; for instance, Emerald Fennell's Saltburn (2023) portrays toff archetypes through scenes of aristocratic excess at a sprawling estate, revealing the psychological toll of insulated privilege among Oxford-educated elites.^[43] Such depictions maintain the toff as a symbol of detached superiority, rooted in visual cues of bespoke clothing and languid posing that signal unearned entitlement.

Reinforcement of Class Distinctions

The term "toff," denoting a stereotype of upper-class refinement often laced with connotations of snobbery or detachment, reinforces class distinctions by linguistically codifying and caricaturing elite socioeconomic traits, thereby embedding class-based judgments into everyday and political discourse.^[44] This usage parallels other class-coded slurs like "chav," creating binary archetypes that simplify social hierarchies into oppositional categories, which sustains perceptual divides rather than encouraging cross-class empathy or mobility.^[45]^[46] In political rhetoric, labeling opponents as "toffs" shifts scrutiny from substantive issues to inherited privilege, as seen in Labour Party critiques of Conservative leaders like David Cameron, whose Eton and Oxford education was invoked via terms like "toff" or "poshboy" to imply inherent disconnection from working-class concerns, thereby validating class origin as a proxy for legitimacy.^[47] Such invocations, dating back to at least the 2010 general election campaign, entrench the notion that upper-class backgrounds disqualify individuals from broad representation, perpetuating a meritocratic facade undermined by class essentialism.^[48] Sociologically, the term's persistence in media and casual speech—originating in mid-19th-century working-class slang around 1851—highlights enduring class salience in Britain, where verbal markers like "toff" affirm boundaries by associating elite accents, education, or leisure with moral or intellectual inferiority, discouraging assimilation and fueling resentment that mirrors upper-class disdain for lower strata.^[49] This dynamic, observed in analyses of British class politics, resists erosion despite economic shifts, as emotive labels maintain cultural separation; for instance, surveys indicate that 60% of Britons still identify class as a key divider, with slang reinforcing self-perpetuating stereotypes.^[50]^[51] Critics argue that "toff"-bashing, while ostensibly egalitarian, ultimately bolsters distinctions by normalizing class warfare rhetoric over policy debate, as evidenced in post-2008 austerity discourse where elite-blaming via such terms deflected from structural reforms, preserving systemic inequalities under the guise of populist critique.^[48] Empirical data from social mobility studies, such as those tracking intergenerational earnings persistence at around 0.5 in the UK (higher than in more fluid societies like Denmark's 0.15), underscore how linguistic reinforcement correlates with stalled fluidity, where class-signaling words like "toff" cue biases in hiring, networking, and public trust.^[52]

Critiques of Resentment and Envy

The term "toff" originated in the 19th century as slang among working-class Londoners to denote a well-dressed upper-class man, possibly derived from "tuft" referring to the gold tassels worn by noble undergraduates at Oxford and Cambridge.^[5] Early lexicographers critiqued it as a product of envy, with J. Redding Ware stating in Passing English of the Victorian Era (1909) that "Toff" is "an invention of the envious enemy," implying resentment toward the attire and status symbols of the elite. This perspective frames the word not as neutral description but as a linguistic expression of lower-class bitterness toward perceived unearned privilege. In modern British politics, the deployment of "toff" against figures like David Cameron has drawn accusations of stoking class envy over substantive debate. During the 2008 Crewe and Nantwich by-election, Labour activists dressed as upper-class stereotypes to label the Conservative candidate a "toff," a tactic defended by some party members but condemned by Tory MP Stephen O'Brien as an attempt to incite working-class voters through "class envy" rather than policy merits.^[53]^[54] Similarly, in 2012, reports emerged of a Labour minister allegedly calling Cameron a "f***ing toff" in the House of Commons, prompting observers to describe the outburst as emblematic of "extraordinary scenes of class envy" within Parliament.^[55] Critics, including BBC political editor Nick Robinson, have argued that such rhetoric perpetuates "class envy, hatred and warfare," diverting attention from governance competence to socioeconomic origins.^[56] Broader cultural critiques portray "toff" as reinforcing a vice-like resentment that undermines social mobility and meritocracy. Commentators have likened its casual invocation—often tied to accents, schooling, or wealth—to outdated 20th-century leftist tactics that prioritize egalitarian spite over individual achievement, as seen in media portrayals equating Oxbridge education with inherent elitism.^[57] For instance, in analyses of political discourse, the term is faulted for embodying "nasty class envy" that ignores how traits like private education can correlate with discipline and networks fostering success, rather than mere inheritance.^[58] Philosophically inclined observers, drawing on historical patterns, contend that envy-driven slurs like "toff" reflect a zero-sum worldview, where admiration for aspiration gives way to schadenfreude toward the prosperous, potentially eroding incentives for self-improvement among the envious.^[59] These critiques emphasize empirical outcomes: societies indulging such sentiments risk policy distortions favoring redistribution over innovation, as evidenced by stagnant mobility in high-resentment environments compared to merit-focused ones.

References

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(chiefly historical) A man of gentle but not noble birth, particularly a man of means (originally ownership of property) who does not work for a living but ...
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A Class of its Own - Lessons From British Society | HuffPost UK ...
... perpetuate class distinctions. One's class seems to be a foundation upon which we can attack other classes. Words like "toff" and "common" were new to me ...
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Does educational stratification put toffs at the top? - The NEP-HIS Blog
Feb 25, 2014 · In the UK, the frequent use of the vernacular such as 'toff' and 'poshboy' by those of the opposition Labour Party (despite many of them ...
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The irrelevance of toff-bashing - Prospect Magazine
May 14, 2008 · Some variant of toff culture can quite easily make a comeback, if only due to the vagaries of fashion. Staffed by wonks, New Labour retains a ...
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(PDF) The Life of Slang - Academia.edu
... toff (1851—, originally working class), masher (1875- 1971, originally ... British slang is infused with issues of class. Educated middle- class youths ...
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Class in Contemporary Britain | Request PDF - ResearchGate
Social class is often represented through highly caricatured figures—the toff, the chav—figures that are referred to in highly emotive terms. One of the ...
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Why is 'chav' still controversial? - BBC News
Jun 3, 2011 · The word chav "is deeply offensive" and should no longer be permitted as a smokescreen for class hatred. Jones disapproves of the word "toff ...
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What Are You Worth?: Why Class is an Embarrassing Subject
Aug 6, 2025 · Social class is often represented through highly caricatured figures—the toff, the chav—figures that are referred to in highly emotive terms.
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UK Politics | Labour's 'toff' campaign defended - Home - BBC News
May 19, 2008 · ... toff". ... "Labour seems to think if they just press a couple of buttons, working class people are going to jump around on a basis of class envy.
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Labour should not repeat 'toff' campaign, says vice-chairman
May 19, 2008 · ... toff ... "Labour seems to think if they just press a couple of buttons, working-class people are going to jump around on a basis of class envy.
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Did a minister call Cameron a '****ing toff' in the Commons?
Apr 12, 2012 · Did a minister call Cameron a '****ing toff' in the Commons? ... Accounts of extraordinary scenes of class envy in the Chamber, which ...
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Nick Robinson's Newslog: Etonian dilemma - BBC
At 02:53 PM on 08 Dec 2005,; James Hellyer wrote: It's nice to see that class envy, hatred and warfare are alive and well in New Labour. How.
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BBC 'turns Oxbridge into a term of abuse'... Shows accused of 'bigotry'
Aug 25, 2010 · For most of us, condemning someone for where they went to school reeks of the class envy politics of much of the last century. ... toff”, “aristo” ...<|separator|>
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Elite privilege isn't a product of wealth - UnHerd
Jun 13, 2024 · But his entire manifesto is drenched in nasty class envy and is ... toff'. I've seen one of the current wealthy MPs, Andrew Charlton ...
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Why I resent crumbs from the upper crust | The Herald
It seems that to call anyone "a toff", if only to ... Spare me "class envy" above all, as an argument ... I am also childish enough to say that the "Tarporley Toff ...