Hi this is Tutor Nick P and this is Noun Phrase 326. The noun phrase today is toy boy or sometimes
you may also hear a boy toy in the same sense. Okay. If somebody wants a screenshot, do it now.
Let's get right to it. Apparently Americans more often use the term boy toy and the British use toy
boy. If someone says that a man is a toy boy, he is usually a much younger romantic lover of
an older woman or at least that's the way it's been for the last several decades. It is hard
to put an exact number on it, but usually around a 20-plus-year difference in age. So that would
suggest that the woman should be at least around 20 years or more older than the younger male
lover. It could it be a little less. Yeah. Maybe but you know it's kind of a roundabout number.
Okay. Good. Let's continue. The younger lover is usually in one's teens or twenties.
So the younger lover is usually still usually quite young. If both partners
are above middle age it is less likely to be used. Okay. Yeah. So like for example,
if the guy was in his 30's and the woman was in her 50's , you know he's already a mature man.
He's probably already well established. He's probably very financially secure.
It's more like he's just having a relationship with an older woman. When we say the terms either
toy boy or boy toy , it has the feeling that not only is the woman the more mature one, but
that she is really more in control of the entire relationship. And she is usually more financially
independent. And in that sense kind of helps her to be more in control of the relationship
as well. And not that they don't love each other. Maybe they love each other very much, but it does
have the feeling a little bit to suggest that you know, she just might be playing with him
or having fun with him. All right. Let's continue. Like, like he's a toy. Well, let's go on.
Also the other thing to note, remember if they are too close in age too. Because I've seen some
you know, media articles kind of use the term loosely. Like so for example if the woman is
only like three years older or five years older that again just the man is having a relationship
with a woman that's a little bit older. In the same sense, it doesn't really apply to toy boy
or boy toy , but I have seen some magazine articles kind of use it that way. Let's continue.
Some dictionaries are now adjusting the definition to be the much younger male lover of an older
partner which suggests this term could be used for male homosexuals in the same sense.
All right. There's a little bit of a change. Remember I'm an English teacher and
I've checked and rechecked definitions a lot over the years. And I've seen a change in this.
They never used to say just a partner. They used to say you know,
the woman was the older one always . But here now so this seems to suggest that if the man were you
know say his mid-50s and the then the guy was in his mid-20s this term by extension could be used
for the gay relationship as well. All right. Let's continue. The origin of the term boy toy
dates back to the 1960's in American English. Remember, the Americans like to use boy toy.
Okay. Simply suggesting a toy more suitable for a boy. Yeah. Well, we do know you know,
over the years. Boys tend to like cars and action figures. Girls tend to like you know, to play with
Barbie dolls. Things like that. You know, in general of course. There are exceptions to that.
Most Brit's may think this term should not exist. In their opinion it should be a boy's toy,
not a toy boy. Grammatically they might even be correct , but you know, the way language is
if the term catches on enough. People use it, it ends up being accepted whether it
was originally grammatically correct or not. But most Brits still think this is wrong. Why do you
say that ? But it's in old dictionaries and it's been accepted for a long time. Let's continue.
All right. They think the term toy boy is more grammatically correct for the younger male
lover as well. So they they think that you should use toy boy for in this sense you know,
we're not talking about the toy anymore. Now we're talking about the relationship.
Okay. All right. Some suggest the term may have been popularized by Madonna who wore
a belt with the term "boy toy" on it for the 1984 MTV Music Awards and then it was displayed on her
1984 "Like a Virgin" album or album cover . So I mean this is one of the reasons why this boy toy
might have taken off more in America rather than toy boy. Okay. Both the American and the British
versions of this term became popular soon after in the 1980's. So you know if you go back to the 60's
and the 50's we didn't you'll usually use this in a case of a much older woman and a much younger
man. All right. Let's continue. All right. And we got four examples to show just
how it is used. Here's the first one. Some people considered Ashton Kutcher to be a boy toy of
Demi Moore. There was a 16-year difference there. Yeah. All right that's a little under 20,
but you still you know, could you know use it for that because it's kind of close.
Jesus Luz was referred to as a boy toy of Madonna. There's a 28-year difference there.
Okay. That's of course she started dating him after her second marriage to the director ended.
Okay. Number three. Some say toy boy relationships are not likely to
last. All right. Well this is just a general way that we may hear the term too rather than
just giving an example. Number four here. An action figure is considered to be a boy toy. So
remember we use it that way or the British would say a boy's toy. All right. Okay. Anyway, I hope
you got it. I hope it's clear. I hope it's very informative. Thank you for your time. Bye-bye.