toby meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

toby

nounalso spelled Toby

A drinking mug, in the shape of a human head with a hat atop; a Toby jug.

New Zealand, UK The valve that mediates the connection between a mains water-supply and a premises's own plumbing.

UK, Dated, Slang The road or highway.

1931, Eric Blair (the real name of George Orwell), "Hop-picking" in The New Statesman of 17th October 1931. It is no wonder that itinerant agricultural workers travel on the toby and sleep in casual wards between jobs.

US, Dated, Regional A kind of inferior cigar of a long slender shape, tapered at one end.

The Moorish idol, Zanclus cornutus

Any of several species of pufferfish in the genus Canthigaster

noun

UK /ˈtəʊbi/ · US /ˈtoʊbi/

Etymology Borrowed from Shelta toba (“the road”).

The superintendent of a street market.

The Boy shakes his head and the Toby comes on to the market wielding a claw hammer.2006, David Eldridge, Market Boy, →ISBN, page 29:
But every market was reputed to be run the same way. The Toby was the godfather.2010, Howard Jacobson, The Mighty Walzer, →ISBN, page 82:

1 more example

At first, neither of them seemed to notice it until the Toby (market traders name for the market manager) in charge of the market started shouting and waving his arms telling the driver that he couldn't park there.2011, Des Thompson, Naive Diamond, →ISBN, page 195:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for toby and Toby.