TOYBOY NOUN (PEOPLE AND SOCIETY)

In British media slang, an attractive young man who is 'kept' as a lover by an older person. Etymology: Formed by compounding, taking advantage of the rhyming syllables: a boy who is the plaything or toy of an older partner. History and Usage: The concept of the toyboy--socially the male equivalent of the bimbo--arose in the early eighties and soon became established as a regular feature of the language of the tabloids. Normally the toyboy is the younger lover of a mature woman, but the word has also been applied to gay relationships; often it is used attributively, with the implication that the person being described is young and attractive. The term has even begun to generate variations: for example, the rock star Madonna was punningly described as the boy toy because of the motto on her belt-buckle and the overtly sexy image that she cultivated, and this was later applied in a transferred sense to other female stars in the same mould. At 48 she is like a teenage girl again--raving it up with four different lovers including a toyboy of 27! News of the World 15 Nov. 1987, p. 32 Rock's richest pop-tart [Madonna], the Boy Toy who made lingerie-and-crucifixes fashionable. Life Fall 1989, p. 84 Olivia...has been wearing out her toy boy hubby! At 31, Macho Matt Lattanzi is 11 years younger than his famous wife. People 11 Mar. 1990, p. 3