Origin of Biffy

Hi, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Megan from San Diego, California.

I had a question about the word biffy, as used for port-a-potties.

Biffy?

Biffy, how do you spell it?

B-I-F-F-Y.

Mm—

And where have you heard this?

My parents say it, and they use it for port-a-potties.

Yeah.

And where are they from?

Well, my dad’s from Indiana, and my mom’s from California.

But they both spent a lot of time in Australia.

Oh, you think they might have heard it there?

I think it’s possible. I’m not sure.

My boyfriend doesn’t believe me that it’s used for porta-potties.

Oh, really?

He thinks they’re just making it up?

Yeah, he thinks my dad has made it up.

Oh, really?

I swear it’s used for porta-potties.

So your question is whether or not that’s true?

Yes.

So you want to convince him that that is not just a family word.

Exactly.

I just quickly looked this up in the Macquarie Dictionary online.

That’s Australia’s national dictionary, and the word biffy does not come up.

I didn’t think it would, but just to confirm that it’s not an Australian term.

I know for a fact that the Dictionary of American Regional English has an entry for this,

And not only do they have an entry, they have a map.

The map shows where all the respondents to their big survey that they did in the 1960s.

It shows little dots where each of them answered, yes, I know this word, or included this word in a response.

And that’s in Wisconsin, mostly, and the upper Midwest.

It’s also sometimes shortened as BIF, B-I-F, just one F.

But, yeah, I’ve definitely heard it as well, Biffy, B-I-F-F-Y.

You have?

Absolutely.

In Louisville?

No, well, I had it on my list of my 300 favorite words on my website, marthabarnett.com, for years.

But, no, I didn’t hear it in Louisville, but that would make sense, Megan.

Where did you first hear it?

Oh, when I was really young.

Yeah?

Yeah.

And do you use it yourself?

The biffy?

The biffy?

What?

You use the term, not the thing.

She’s been hosting it a very long time.

I’m surprised my boyfriend hasn’t heard of it yet, because he’s from the Midwest.

Well, it’s the upper Midwest, and the Midwest is a really big region,

And it’s got some language islands, and some people, how shall I say this nicely,

Are more observant than others.

So is it used for porta-potties or bathrooms in general?

Generally it’s a bathroom, but you’ll actually find some group that swears up and down.

It’s only for outhouses or porta-potties,

And another group that says it can be used for any kind of place that you would do your business.

Oh, perfect.

But what I would have you do is tell your boyfriend that he now has to apologize to your father and mother.

Oh, definitely. He’s apologizing a lot for this one.

Wait, has he personally given them a hard time for it?

Not them so much as me.

I see Friday dinners far into the horizon.

Expensive things, steaks and lobster and the like, right?

Lots of good wine.

Oh, definitely.

All right.

Well, thank you.

That clears up a lot.

Yep, glad to do it.

You’re welcome.

Thank you so much for your call, Megan.

All right, thank you.

All right.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

You know, Grant, I’ve been waiting for a chance to use this on the show.

What, do you have a joke planned?

Well, no, I don’t have a joke planned.

If you’ll just kick me when I’m supposed to laugh, I’ll do that for you.

I have very long legs.

No, our friend Steve Rifkin, who’s a brand name expert,

Recently reported that there was a contest of the 20 most appropriately named portable toilet companies in the U.S.

I’m looking at his website.

And they included such names as a portable toilet company called Duty Calls, Drop Zone.

That’s kind of nice.

Wizards of Ooze.

My gosh, would you go to an outdoor event and there was a portable toilet that said Wizards of Ooze?

I don’t think I would go there.

Here’s one.

Willie Make It.

I kind of like that.

And Betty Don’t.

Oh, boy.

I better stop while we’re ahead, huh?

Anyway, give us a call at 1-877-929-9673 or email us.

The address is words@waywordradio.org.