Meanings
plural Toby frills · alternative Toby-frill · alternative toby frill
- historicalA pleated turndown collar formerly worn by women and children.First known use 19th c.
Mopsy and Dopsy, their long limbs sheathed in sea-green velveteen, Toby-frills round their necks.
1882, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Mount Royal1 more example
Fancy Jimmie's name being Christina… It suited her exactly, sitting there in her little striped dressing-gown with its “toby” frill.
1915, Dorothy Richardson, Pointed Roofs, Broadview, published 2014, page 180Synonyms: Toby collar
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA pleated turndown collar formerly worn by women and children.
Origin
So called because it was worn by Toby, the dog in the Punch and Judy show.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Toby frill. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Toby%20frill
“Toby frill.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Toby%20frill. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Toby frill,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Toby%20frill.
Source: Toby frill on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.