A boffin in action: Dr Alexander Thorkel (Albert Dekker) from Dr. Cyclops (1940)

In the slang of the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, boffins are scientists, engineers, and other people who are stereotypically seen as engaged in technical or scientific research. The word conjures up a stereotype of mature men in thick spectacles and white lab coats, obsessively working with complicated apparatus. Alongside eccentric genius, portrayals of boffins usually highlight a naive ineptitude in social interaction. A classic and substantial English portrayal of an eccentric and obsessed boffin can be seen in The Man in the White Suit (1951). A mad scientist. ... A mad scientist. ... Albert Pekker (born December 20, 1905 in Brooklyn, New York; died May 5, 1968 in Hollywood, California) is an American character actor. ... Dr. Cyclops (1940) is a horror film directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, starring Thomas Coley, Victor Kilian, Janice Logan, Charles Halton, and Albert Dekker. ... Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... For the Technical Symposium of NITK Surathkal Engineer , see Engineer (Technical Fest). ... For the 1996 Blur single, see Stereotypes (song). ... The Man in the White Suit is a satirical comedy movie made in 1951 by Ealing Studios. ...

Origin of the word

The word's origin is unknown. It appeared during World War II, where it was applied with some affection to the people who invented radar, early digital computers, the atomic bomb, and other technologies that gave the Allies an advantage over the Axis during the war. Word-substitution in conversation was a common practice at the time, to foil spies. After the war, the word boffin persisted but also came to have a slightly more pejorative meaning. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... This long range radar antenna, known as ALTAIR, is used to detect and track space objects in conjunction with ABM testing at the Ronald Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein atoll. ... ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ...

There are several theories as to the origin:

• that the word comes from a name of a restaurant in East Anglia. From 1938 and during World War II the British scientists developing radar would often frequent an eatery called 'Boffin's'.

• that it is an alteration of puffin, a bird that is both serious and comical at the same time.

• that it was a word for an older naval officer (i.e.: aged over age thirty-two, see C. Graves Life Line 1941) who apparently were termed 'Boffin'(s) in the Royal Navy.

• that it was inspired by the Heath Robinsonish appearance of the Blackburn Baffin aircraft.

• Eric Partridge points to Nicodemus Boffin, a fictional character who appears in Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens, and who although being only a dustman is described there as a "very odd looking old fellow."

One solution that combines all these theories would be as follows: the use of "Boffin" by Dickens found its way into naval slang. The Baffin plane, being a naval torpedo craft, perhaps took its variant name from the same naval tradition. The café on the coast at East Anglia took its name from the naval tradition. Then, to counteract spies the term "boffins" was taken from naval slang at the outbreak of war in 1939, and became widely applied as a convenient euphemism for research scientists. Species Fratercula arctica Fratercula corniculata Fratercula cirrhata For prehistoric species, see article text. ... “Aves” redirects here. ... William Heath Robinson (May 31, 1872 - September 13, 1944) was a British cartoonist and illustrator, who signed himself W. Heath Robinson. ... BLACKBURN B-5 BAFFIN - The Blackburn Baffin was evolved under the direction of Major F A Bumpus in 1932 as a ver-sion of the earlier Ripon torpedo bomber, with a 545 hp Pegasus I.MS engine. ... Eric Honeywood Partridge (February 6, 1894-June 1, 1979) was a noted lexicographer of the English language, and particularly of its slang. ... Alice, a fictional character from the work of Lewis Carroll. ... Spoiler warning: Our Mutual Friend (written in the years 1864–65) is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens. ... Dickens redirects here. ...

The word has made a few other appearances in literature. There are a family of hobbits in the fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien with the surname Boffin. In William Morris's novel News from Nowhere he has a man called Boffin meet the newly-arrived time traveller. In J. R. R. Tolkiens legendarium, a Hobbit is an individual member of one of the races that inhabit the lands of Arda. ... In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Boffin (anglicization of Bophîn, name of unknown meaning in Hobbitish Westron) family are a prominent hobbit family of The Shire, associated with the region of the Yale in the Eastfarthing. ... William Morris, socialist and innovator in the Arts and Crafts movement William Morris (March 24, 1834 – October 3, 1896) was an English artist, writer, socialist and activist. ...

Usage among children

After the war, as anti-intellectualism came to the fore, the word came to have a more pejorative connotation. This was especially so among children, where it came to mean a nerdy young "teacher's pets" swot at school - lapping up their school work while also often pursuing their own research interests. Boffin was usually shortened to 'boff'. Similar nicknames beginning with 'b' were 'brains' and 'Bamber' (after the chairman of the University Challenge TV quiz game). Since around 1990 the term is still used among children, but is increasingly giving way to the U.S.-inspired label of "nerd". Anti-intellectualism describes a sentiment of hostility towards, or mistrust of, intellectuals and intellectual pursuits. ... A word or phrase is pejorative if it implies contempt or disapproval. ... “Nerds” redirects here. ... “Nerds” redirects here. ...

Usage in modern popular culture

In modern British English, the word is mainly used in a semi-amusing way, especially by the British Red Top (tabloid) newspapers who frequently, almost universally, use the word when referring to any scientist; e.g.: This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Boffins strain for answers - BOFFINS are launching a £660,000 study into constipation, it was announced today.
The Sun, 25 September 2005. This article is about a British tabloid. ... September 25 is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Today, particularly in other Commonwealth countries, the term 'boffin' is more of a compliment than a pejorative. The term is applied in schools to people who are generally very good in subjects like science, mathematics, and computer studies -- sometimes even to other subjects, like history.

The 1971 UK children's TV series Bright's Boffins featured the adventures of an eccentric scientist, Bertram Bright, and his team of equally-eccentric fellow inventors. [1] [2]. One can also see the type portrayed in 1970s TV series such as The Goodies and The Double Deckers (the character of 'Brain').

Longman, a British publisher of educational books, uses a character named "Professor Boffin" in many of its books. The character is a stereotypical absent-minded elder scientist. Longman is a firm of English publishers. ...

The word has found little favour in North America, where the corresponding pejorative terms are geek and nerd, and no colloquial term for "scientist" exists. World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... It has been suggested that Geekdom be merged into this article or section. ...

The Boffins is a team name used in Worms: Open Warfare. The CPU team known to be strategic while in gameplay.

See also

• Mad scientist

Caucasian, male, aging, crooked teeth, messy hair, lab coat, spectacles/goggles, dramatic posing — one popular stereotype of a mad scientist. ...

Further reading

• Christopher Frayling. Mad, Bad And Dangerous?: The Scientist and the Cinema (2005).

External links

• Boffin: World Wide Words entry by Michael Quinion

• "Memoirs of a Boffin" by J. Rennie Whitehead