Boffins

[James West]

The word 'boffin' has only one meaning in 20th-century English, which is
defined in the Oxford English Dictionary (forget the Compact Edition -
compact dictionaries sow more confusion than they shed light):

   A person engaged in 'back-room' scientific or technical research.
   The term seems to have been first applied by members of the Royal
   Air Force to scientists working on radar.

I served in the RAF long after radar had become commonplace, and the word
'boffin' equally so. It was applied routinely, with respect and even
affection, to scientific specialists of all kinds, working on everything
from computers to flight simulators to navigational aids and weapons
guidance systems. It was a _great_ deal more respectful than the term
applied to national-service acting pilot officers like myself (we were
called "Twelve-Week Wonders"). The boffins as a class were distinguished
by their smarts, their technical proficiency, their articulacy and their
sense of humor. But it's a free country, and you certainly have the right
to disavow your membership.

On Mon, 29 May 1995, Randolph J. Herber wrote:

> The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary lists several examples
> of boff- alternate spellings for buff- words and several for -oo- and -o-
> alternatives.  The same dictionary gives for buffoon, among other meanings,
> he following meanings a comic actor, clown, jester, fool ....  Of course,
> a person might apply such a description to himself or herself.
>
> Randolph J. Herber, herber at dcdrjh.fnal.gov, +1 708 840 2966, CD/HQ
> (Speaking for myself and not for US, US DOE, FNAL nor URA.)
> (Product, trade, or service marks herein belong to their respective owners.)
>
> The following header lines retained to affect attribution:
> |Date: Fri, 26 May 1995 19:19:39 -0400 (EDT)
> |From: "Loren A. Billings" <BILLINGS at PUCC.BITNET>
> |Subject: Re: Czech fonts, etc.
>
>         ...
>
> |I make no apologies for using the term "boffin"; actually, I met a
> |Canadian who described himself as such just this past weekend.  The
> |word does not appear to have any etymological meaning (as is the case with
> |_hysterical_ at the O.J. Simpson trial) or acquired interpretation that
> |would imply anything more than reverence for the service that these
> |people provide at help lines and walk-in rooms all over the world.
>
>         ...
>
> |--Loren Billings (billings at princeton.edu)
>

_________________________________________________________________________
JAMES WEST|University of Washington DP-32, Seattle, WA 98195|206-543-4892