Teddy boy

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noun (often lowercase)Informal.

a rebellious British youth who, in the 1950s and early 1960s, affected the dress of the reign of Edward VII.

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Words nearby Teddy boy

Tecumseh, ted, tedder, teddy, teddy bear, Teddy boy, Teddy girl, Te Deum, tedious, tedium, TED spread

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Teddy boy in a sentence

In the 90s, it kept gay men out of leadership roles in the Boy Scouts of America.
Freaking Out About Age Gaps in Gay Relationships Is Homophobic|Samantha Allen|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This is Bey and Nicki at their most lyrically masochistic, and boy, is it a treat.
The 14 Best Songs of 2014: Bobby Shmurda, Future Islands, Drake, and More|Marlow Stern|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Interviews in Serial (including ones from Adnan) do acknowledge that Jay was known as a resident bad boy at Woodlawn High School.
The Deal With Serial’s Jay? He’s Pissed Off, Mucks Up Our Timeline|Emily Shire|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The former Virginia governor was once the golden boy of the GOP.
2014 Was a Delectably Good Year for Sleaze|Patricia Murphy|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A sepia photo shows him as a young boy, head in his hands, with a large book open at a bar table.
The Bars That Made America Great|Nina Strochlic|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A little boy of four was moved to passionate grief at the sight of a dead dog taken from a pond.
Children's Ways|James Sully
You see, I'd always thought of him as the boy whom Great-aunt Lucia described having seen.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
Poor Squinty ran and tried to hide under the straw, for he knew the boy was talking about him.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
A look of passion came into the face of the watching boy, and again he fingered his revolver.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
Several times after this the boy and his sisters came to look down into the pig pen.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum

British Dictionary definitions for Teddy boy

teddy boy

noun

(in Britain, esp in the mid-1950s) one of a cult of youths who wore mock Edwardian fashions, such as tight narrow trousers, pointed shoes, and long sideboardsOften shortened to: ted

any tough or delinquent youth

Word Origin for teddy boy

C20: from Teddy, from Edward, referring to the Edwardian dress

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012