toff

Etymology

Probably an alteration of tuft, referring to the gold tassel on the cap worn by titled undergraduates at English universities.

noun

1. (obsolete) An elegantly dressed person.
   Last week down our alley came a toff, / Nice old geyser with a nasty cough, / Sees my missus, takes his topper off, / Quite in a gentlemanly way 1899, Rudyard Kipling, “Judson and the Empire”, in Many Inventions, New York: D. Appleton & Company, page 398
2. (Britain, derogatory) A person of the upper class or with pretensions to it, who usually communicates an air of superiority.
   I came home first class—up the front end with the toffs—semi-anaesthetised throughout the trip by caviar and free champagne—and to hell with frugality and the conservation of resources. 1972, Donald Gould, “A Groundling's Notebook”, in New Scientist, volume 55, number 812, page 512
   George Martin always seemed to me to be a "toff" and a gentleman even though his roots, like many of us, were in the common people. George has a touch of class that is quite impressive. April 11 1998, Paul McCartney, Billboard, page 34
   Parkinson: You made films before, but the part that really made your name was Zulu, wasn't it […] and there of course—against type—you played the toff, you played the officer. Caine: I played the officer, yeah, and everybody thought I was like that. Everyone was so shocked when they met me, this like Cockney guy had played this toffee-nosed git. December 18 2000, BBC and Bafta Tribute to Michael Caine, 16:43-17:05
   I like to see the toffs being toffs. The women all glammed up, the blokes in their tails and top 'ats, all braying and flinging their money around. Confirms all my prejudices. Just a reminder of who my enemies are. 2012, John Roberts, How the Dice Fell, page 186