or fogy, fogay, foggi, subs. (old).—An invalid or garrison soldier or sailor. Whence the present colloquial usages: (1) a person advanced in life, and (2) an old-fashioned or eccentric person; generally OLD FOGEY. [Derivation doubtful; suggestions are (1) from Su. G. fogde and (2) from Eng. folk. See Notes and Queries, 1 S. vii., 354, 559, 632; viii., 64, 154, 256, 455, 652; 6 S. ix., 10, 195.]
1785. GROSE, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v.
1812. Letter quoted in Notes and Queries, 6 S., ix., 10. My company is now forming into an invalid company. Tell your grandmother we will be like the Castle FOGGIES.
1855. THACKERAY, The Ballad of Bouillabaisse.
| When first I saw ye, Cari luoghi, | |
| I ’d scarce a beard upon my face, | |
| And now, a grizzled, grim OLD FOGY, | |
| I sit and wait for Bouillabaisse. |
1864. Tangled Talk, p. 104. An OLD FOGEY, who particularly hated being ‘done.’
1867. NESMITH, ‘Reminiscences of Dr. Anthon,’ in The Galaxy, Sept., p. 611. The adherents of ‘progress’ mostly regard classics as OLD FOGEY, and ‘see no use’ in the laborious years which youth spend upon them.
1883. PAYN, The Canon’s Ward, ch. xv. ‘He would have preferred some bookish sneak like Adair, or some OLD FOGEY like Mavors.’
1888. Sporting Life, 10 Dec. So it is with the sister art of music, for I (myself something of an OLD FOGEY in such matters).
So also FOGEYISH = old-fashioned; eccentric. FOGEYDOM = the state of FOGEYISHNESS; and FOGEYISM = a characteristic of FOGEYDOM.
1877. BESANT and RICE, The Golden Butterfly, ch. i. They repaired arm-in-arm to their club—the Renaissance, now past its prime, and a little FOGYISH.
1883. The Saturday Review, 31 March, p. 403, col. 1. Not the least among the pleasures of FOGEYDOM, so ably depicted by Thackeray, is the confidence that it inspires in the hearts of the fairer sex.
