toff accent
- noun
- /tɒf ˈæksənt/
- UK
:
acento de clase alta
- He put on a toff accent for the school play and pretended to be a lord.
Examples
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People assumed he was wealthy because of his toff accent, though his background was quite modest.
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Her toff accent made her stand out among the other students from the countryside.
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He speaks with a distinct toff accent.
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Many people associate a toff accent with privilege.
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Her toff accent immediately gave away her upper-class background at the party.
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They assumed his toff accent was a sign of wealth and education when he spoke.
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Many actors adopt a toff accent to portray aristocratic characters convincingly.
How Posh
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an accent characteristic of the English upper class' is directly and transparently derivable from combining 'toff' (a wealthy/high‑status person) with 'accent' (way of speaking). This noun+noun composition follows standard compounding patterns and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows both constituents, though cultural familiarity with the slang 'toff' helps.
Etymology
Toff accent may come from the old slang toff, which grew from the joking phrase 'toffee-nosed' — imagine someone with toffee on their nose acting proud. So a toff accent is the kind of accent people link with the 'upper class' or 'posh' way of speaking.