Meanings
teddy boy1
plural teddy boys
- Alternative letter-case form of Teddy boy.
Open carriages tend to be draughty and inadequately heated. The passenger in them has no escape from the annoyance of squalling babies, boisterous drunks, and riotous teddy-boys, who may be at the far end of the coach but whose din cannot be shut out.
1959 February 28, “Letters to the Editor: Open-Type Coaches on B.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 135
Teddy boy2
plural Teddy boys · alternative teddy boy
- historicalA member of a male youth culture which originated in London in the early 1950s, later associated with American rock and roll music.First known use 1953
Mitch (Precious Pearl) is a smooth, impassive young man utterly dripping with the ambivalent sensuality of a teddy-boy in tap shoes.
1991 April 6, Ron Caldwell, “Kind of Stranger”, in Gay Community News, page 16Synonyms: Ted
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA member of a male youth culture which originated in London in the early 1950s, later associated with American rock and roll music.
Origin
From Teddy (“Edward”), from their style of clothing, reminiscent of the Edwardian era.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Hungarian jampec
- jampecmember of male youth culture
Polish Teddy boy
- Teddy boymember of male youth culture
Cite this entry
teddy boy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/teddy%20boy
“teddy boy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/teddy%20boy. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “teddy boy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/teddy%20boy.
Source: teddy boy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.