What does fogey mean?
A fogey is a person viewed as old-fashioned, overly conventional, or stubbornly resistant to change — new technology, current fashion, or contemporary attitudes alike. The label is informal and usually teasing rather than hostile, though it carries a mildly critical edge: to call someone a fogey is to suggest they are stuck in the past. It appears most often in the fixed phrase "old fogey," frequently deployed self-deprecatingly ("I'm becoming such an old fogey") or affectionately about relatives and colleagues. In Britain, "young fogey" took on a life of its own, describing younger people with conspicuously antique tastes in clothes, music, or manners. The word traces back to eighteenth-century English, likely via earlier military slang for an invalided or gouty soldier, before evolving into its modern sense of a stodgy traditionalist.
nounA person, typically an older one, who is considered old-fashioned, excessively conventional, or resistant to new ideas, fashions, or technologies.
- A person regarded as old-fashioned, stuffy, or set in conventional ways, especially one resistant to modern ideas or technology.
- (Less commonly) a dull, old-fashioned person generally, without strong emphasis on age — applied even to young people who behave like traditionalists.
"The other editors teased him as the office fogey for insisting on printing out every draft."
"My grandfather refuses to text and calls himself a proud fogey about it."
"At twenty-nine she was already the department's resident young fogey, championing vinyl records and fountain pens."
Regular plural formation; occasionally spelled "fogies" following the older variant of the word.
"The committee's fogeys voted down every modernization proposal."
"Young fogey" became a genuine British fashion identity in the 1980s — young men deliberately dressing like their grandfathers.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fogey
"Fogey" first appeared in English in the eighteenth century, originally spelled "fogy" and used in military circles for an invalided or half-pay soldier, before broadening to mean any old-fashioned or dull person. The ultimate origin is uncertain, though it may derive from an older sense of "foggy" meaning fat or bloated, recorded in Scottish dialect. The variant spelling "fogey" became standard later, and derivatives such as "fogeyish" and "fogeyism" followed.
Related word forms
How fogey is actually used
Informal and mildly derogatory, though often used humorously or affectionately, sometimes self-deprecatingly. The phrase "old fogey" is by far the most common form, but "young fogey" emerged in late twentieth-century Britain to describe a young person with conspicuously old-fashioned tastes. The spelling "fogy" is an accepted variant but less frequent today.
Easily confused with fogey
"Fogy" is simply an older variant spelling of the same word; "fogey" is now the more common spelling.
"Foggy" means covered or obscured by fog, whereas "fogey" refers to an old-fashioned person — similar spelling, unrelated meanings.