This word I haven't found on any dictionary

[rappiolla]

What is 'oofy people'?

 

[eave]

Re: This word I haven't find on any dictionary

Oofy means rich or wealthy....so it means 'rich people'.

 

[Anglika]

Re: This word I haven't find on any dictionary

And it is so rare that I had not met it before. :shock:

 

[rappiolla]

Re: This word I haven't find on any dictionary

And it is so rare that I had not met it before. :shock:

Perhaps it's dated too: I came across it in one of the books of the 'Jeeves & Wooster' series by PG Wodehouse: "Right-Ho Jeeves", Chapter 7, Page 56, line 2 (Penguin Books, 1973 edition).
Moreover, there's a character in the series by the name 'Oofy Prosser' and, indeed, he's a very wealthy man.

 

[vil]

Re: This word I haven't find on any dictionary

Hi rappiolla,

There are a few definitions of the term in question:



oofy = moneyed Part of Speech: adjective Definition: rich Synonyms: affluent, fat cat, flush*, leisure class, loaded*, oofy, opulent, prosperous, stinking rich, upscale, uptown, wealthy, well-heeled*, well-off*, well-to-do*

oofy people = beautiful people. Part of Speech: noun. Definition: wealthy fashionable
people. Synonyms: aristocracy, beau monde,

oofy = slang for rich or wealthy. Possibly from the Yiddish 'ooftisch' which in turn comes from the German 'auf dem Tische' or 'on the table', a gambling term.


Regards.


V.

 

[rappiolla]

Re: This word I haven't find on any dictionary

Isn't it somewhat peculiar that only the non-native English speakers who've posted to this thread have heard about that word? I still wonder if it's dated.

 

[Anglika]

Re: This word I haven't find on any dictionary

In my view rare and dated, and comes under the heading of "slang" [informal]. It's probably because it is a Wodehouse usage that means it survives at all.

 

[apex2000]

Re: This word I haven't find on any dictionary

The word 'oof' does appear in our dictionaries and coincides with much of the comments above being slang for money and the origin ooftish from Yiddish and German. However, bearing in mind that very funny author's use, or misuse, of so many words and the era he based his tales in it is quite likely that it alludes to poofy with the meaning 'effeminate'.

 

[MrPedantic]

Re: This word I haven't find on any dictionary

As a footnote to Vil's comprehensive explanation: "oof" ("money", from which "oofy" derives) is first recorded for 1885. An "oof-bird" is a supplier of money; one may be "oofy" or "oofless".

Wodehouse is a repository of outmoded slang from the early part of the 20th century. It is very difficult to tell which words are his own coinages, and which were genuinely used. (I would be quite surprised to find an implication of "poofy" behind his use of the word, as his characters generally cease to exist at about the midriff, and only resume just above the knee.)

MrP

 

[apex2000]

Re: This word I haven't find on any dictionary

As a footnote to Vil's comprehensive explanation: "oof" ("money", from which "oofy" derives) is first recorded for 1885. An "oof-bird" is a supplier of money; one may be "oofy" or "oofless".

Wodehouse is a repository of outmoded slang from the early part of the 20th century. It is very difficult to tell which words are his own coinages, and which were genuinely used. (I would be quite surprised to find an implication of "poofy" behind his use of the word, as his characters generally cease to exist at about the midriff, and only resume just above the knee.)

MrP

I think you have misinterpreted my suggestion. Wodehouse did not use words which could directly suggest anything derogatory in the picture he was drawing and therefore effeminate does not appear in his books; using oofy for poofy is the sort of allegory that he regularly employed.

 

[rappiolla]

Re: This word I haven't find on any dictionary

In the occurrence I referred to in post #4 it is clear from the context he meant 'wealthy' as you can gather from the transcription:
"This Tom has a peculiarity I've noticed in other very oofy men. Nick him for the paltriest sum, and he lets out a squawk you can hear at Land's End."

 

[apex2000]

"Nick him for the paltriest sum, and he lets out a squawk you can hear at Land's End."
This applies much more to misers than the rich in general, many of whom in Wodehouse's time were philanthropic. There is a theme running through all of Wodehouse's books where he 'sends up' characters that we all recognise (or at least all of us above a certain age and with long memories), characters who were mainly few in number but whose characteristics could be used effectively to draw an easily recognisable type.

 

[riverkid]

What is 'oofy people'?

This word I haven't found [on] in any dictionary.