The Meaning Behind Off the Cuff

SEELEY LAKE - More than one politician has created problems for himself by speaking “off the cuff.” In the case of a politician the phrase means talking without having a written speech to refer to, or not having sufficiently thought things through before speaking. But what does that have to do with cuffs?

Although a number of theories have cropped up about how, when and why the phrase came into existence, what is certain is that the cuff in question is a man’s paper shirt cuff. From the late 19th century to the early 20th, collars and cuffs were made to be removable. Because a dress shirt generally was worn over an undershirt and covered by a suit jacket, collars and cuffs were the parts most likely to get dirty or frayed.

In his book “Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America,” Giles Slade explains that the process of paper production reached a stage of refinement that allowed paper to be used as a substitute for cloth in certain instances.

Slade writes, “In 1872 America produced 150 million disposable shirt collars and cuffs. Men found paper clothing parts convenient because laundry services in those days were unreliable, expensive and available mainly in large urban centers … Single men simply lacked access to professional or spousal laundry services. They bought replaceable shirt parts in bulk and changed into them whenever the most visible parts of their attire became stained or discolored.”

Most accounts credit waiters and barmen as the first to use their paper cuffs as notepads to jot down orders, keep track of tabs or calculate bills. The practice spread to actors who wrote on cuffs as an aid to remembering lines or stage directions. Newspaper reporters found the paper cuffs handy for taking quick notes.

But the modern sense of the phrase came from after-dinner speakers who scribbled on their shirt cuffs ideas that occurred to them during the dinner. They then extemporaneously added these new ideas to their formal written speeches. Or in the case of those who had neglected to write a formal speech, their talk was delivered completely off the cuff.

One interesting verification for the origins of the off the cuff phrase, apparently directed toward those who wrote on cloth rather than paper cuffs, appeared in the April 1911 issue of Popular Mechanics. Among the items listed under “Interesting Patents Practical or Unique” is a “Cuff Memorandum Tablet.”

Accompanied by a drawing, the description reads, “a memorandum attachment for the cuff, designed to reduce the laundry bills of men who have contracted the habit of making notes on shirt cuffs. It is a celluloid tablet carried between the cuff and the coat sleeve. Ordinarily concealed from view under the coat sleeve, it may be drawn out when required for notes.”

Another verification of these uses for shirt cuffs comes from an advertisement in the August 1916 issue of the Rotarian Magazine. Under the header “Don’t write it on your cuff!” the Irving-Pitt (I-P) Manufacturing Company tells men to buy I-P’s Loose Leaf Memo Books instead. Accompanying pictures and text show how conveniently the I-P memo book fits into a man’s vest pocket or his inside coat pocket. Apparently I-P’s product met with more success than the Cuff Memorandum Tablet, since pocket notepads are still in use today.

There seems to be no consensus on exactly when paper collars and cuffs went out of fashion, though a 1925 edition of the Cleveland newspaper “The Plain Dealer” once called a local official. “the last detachable cuff wearer.” Apparently a number of gentlemen wrote to protest that designation, assuring the newspaper they still used paper collars and cuffs daily. The protest led to a follow-up story bearing the headline, “One Man Soils Seven Pairs a Week and Is Proud of It.”