fogy

American  

[foh-gee] / ˈfoʊ gi /

Or fogey

noun

fogies plural

1. an excessively conservative or old-fashioned person, especially one who is intellectually dull (usually preceded byold ).

   The board of directors were old fogies still living in the 19th century.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• fogyism
  noun
• fogyish
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• fogies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fogy

First recorded in 1770–80; origin uncertain

Explanation

A fogy is an old fashioned, boring, unstylish person. You might accuse your dad of being an old fogy if he tells you to turn down your music. You can spell the word fogy or fogey — either way, you're probably talking about an older person, and you're definitely talking about a dull, conservative person. The word comes from the Scottish foggie, and it originally meant "an army veteran." Fogy may be related to the antiquated slang word fogram, "old fashioned person," or from an early, now obscure meaning of fog, "bloated fat."

Example Sentences

Consequently, throughout the 1970s and ’80s Wilson was viewed as a Tory, a young fogy.

From Washington Post • Nov. 23, 2022

Her first special was a portrait of a young fogy, but this new one zeros in on her self-protective cynicism and exaggerates it until it’s an absurd cartoon.

From New York Times • Mar. 8, 2022

I comfortably describe myself as an old fogy.

From Slate • Feb. 6, 2018

Bellow was aware that his repeated insistence on our “state of radical distraction” made him sound, at times, like a fogy, a turkey gobbling at the inanities of the young.

From New York Times • Mar. 23, 2015

The girl's lip curled like an opening rose-bud; she gave a nipping laugh, and I just heard "old fogy" break through it so saucily that my blood riled.

From Phemie Frost's Experiences by Stephens, Ann S. (Ann Sophia)