toby
Preserved but no longer current.
The road. The highwayman or swell robber was in old days said to be on the high TOBY, from the high or main road, while those meaner fellows, the footpad and the cutpurse, were but "low TOBY-MEN," from their frequenting the by-ways.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “toby” mean?
The road. The highwayman or swell robber was in old days said to be on the high TOBY, from the high or main road, while those meaner fellows, the footpad and the cutpurse, were but "low TOBY-MEN," from their frequenting the by-ways.
Is “toby” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.