phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

Mufti

Posted by James Briggs on July 11, 2003

In Reply to: Mufti posted by Lewis on July 11, 2003

: : : When I was but a young thing starting my working career, a 'new fad' came in called casual days. They were Fridays and you could come to work in your jeans, etc.

: : : Then the name changed somewhere along the line to Mufti (and as you can see I really don't know how to spell that) Day and we had to pay $1 for the privilege.

: : : I dislike the term intensely (not cos I had to pay $1 - I think that went to either charity or our co. social club, which is OK), but because I think it was yet another Americanism that crept into our language. Nothing personal to all you Americans out there, but hey, we're not American, and TV has a lot to answer for in that it seems to be evolving our own language into yours in a rather hurried way. And I guess I'm just a boring old 'you know what', cos I kinda like the way we spoke when I grew up. (Says she using the term 'kinda' - ah, there seems to be no escape!)

: : : Anyway, is 'Mufti' an American term, and is it an acronym, or an actual word, and where did it come from and when.

: : : (Many qvestions ya!!!!)

: : You can use "mufti" with a clear conscience. It's Arabic. See link: dictionary.reference.com

: "Mufti" is quite common amongst older Brits - it came from the era of the colonies and was generally used by soldiers to mean "non-uniform dress". "In mufti" is probably the commonest use, used particularly by ex-servicemen of my acquaintance. It doesn't mean casual as such - because soldiers have at least 2 uniforms "dress" for ceremonial use and "battledress" for everyday use. I have never heard a serviceman call his battledress "mufti" and indeed a soldier would call non-dress uniform "khaki" (pron "car-key" NOT "cacky"!). I believe mufti is simply civilian dress and, frankly, is inappropriate to use as an alternative to "dress-down" - unless the power dressers think they are at war (saddos).

Yes. It comes from the days of the British Raj and was used by soldiers - mainly officers - to describe the non miltary clothes they wore when off duty.

© 1997 – 2024 Phrases.org.uk. All rights reserved.