“ They fit better around the neck. It is better to have the collar separate and for some reasons the cuffs also—dress shirts excepted, perhaps. Let your collars always be in and strictly within the fashion, unless you would look like a rowdy, in which case you are at liberty to go to any extreme you please and to gratify any vulgar caprice you may chance to have. Your cuffs should be no larger than is necessary to admit of your slipping your hand through them when they are buttoned. Why should a man wear a cuff so large that one may see up to his elbow? ”
Cuffs
Definition and stakes
Cuffs, primarily referring to the trimmings of sleeves in garments, have been a recurring motif in literature, reflecting both sartorial precision and narrative symbolism. Authors such as Alfred Ayres and Pansy critiqued their functional design, emphasizing comfort and proportion, while James Francis Thierry wove them into a whimsical tale of lost buttons.
Alice Morse Earle traced their historical development in costume, noting their rarity in early American inventories, and Arthur B. Reeve used them as tools in a scientific mystery. From fashion manuals to detective fiction, cuffs serve as markers of identity, utility, and aesthetic intent, bridging the mundane and the metaphorical across genres.
Quotes about “cuffs”
“ When you get a pair of cuffs nicely laundried, so that they are stiff and shining, how do you enjoy struggling with them to get the cuff button in, or to get it out—especially if you are in a hurry?"This query produced much merriment among two of the girls, which the elder sister presently explained:"You ought to ask that question of our brother Dick. He does have the most trying times with his cuff buttons. He wants his [119] cuffs so stiff they can almost walk alone, and then he fusses and struggles to get the buttons in so as not to break the cuff. ”
James Francis Thierry, The Adventures of the Eleven Cuff-Buttons
“ Well, just this Easter Monday morning, when the Earl was being dressed by his valet, an Italian named Luigi Vermicelli, he noticed with horror that his nice pink-and-green silk shirt, lying over the back of the mahogany arm-chair beside his bed, had the ancestral cuff-buttons missing from the cuffs! ”
Alice Morse Earle,
Two Centuries of Costume in America…
“ In the hundreds of inventories I have investigated I have never seen half a dozen entries of cuffs. The two or three I have found have been specified as “lace cuffs.” George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, wrote with a vivid pen; one of his own followers said with severity, “He paints high.” Some of his denunciations of the dress of his day afford a very good notion of the peculiarities of contemporary costume; though he may be read with this caution in mind. He writes deploringly of women’s sleeves (in the year 1654) ”
Robert W. Krepps, Vengeance From the Past
“ I would have faced five giant Bill Cuffs rather than this yellow-haired creature."My name is Skagarach," he said to me, bringing my eyes back to him involuntarily. "I am third leader in our muster of the Old Companions. You have met the second leader, Old One. That is the truth of our folk. In time, in generations, we shall all look so, and the effete refinements of Homo sapiens will be gone." He glanced at Bill Cuff, who towered beside him, watching me. "Bill is first leader. ”
Various, The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No…
“ In the daytime deep cuffs are much worn; they are cut so as to stand away from the arm like the deep cuffs of a cavalier glove. Then there are puffs at the shoulder; and there is also a new sleeve that has no seam at the back of the arm. Shoulder-straps and epaulettes are very popular additions to the bodice; and we find shoulder-straps without epaulettes, and epaulettes without shoulder-straps, or both together. Some of the shoulder-straps to woollen dresses are of the material of the dress, which may be braided or embroidered. ”
Arthur B. Reeve,
The Soul Scar: A Craig Kennedy Scientific Mystery Novel
“ From his cabinet he took and adjusted several little instruments, with an attachment that could be placed about the wrist, like a cuff or strap. These cuffs were hollow and from each ran a tube attached to an indicator. Both the hollow cuffs and the tubes were filled with a colored liquid which registered on a scale on the indicator part. But I anticipate my story.I found my end of the duty far from pleasant, although under other circumstances, suspicion or not of Honora, I should have enjoyed an opportunity to meet her. ”
Edmund Clerihew Bentley,
Trent's Last Case
(1913)
“ I pointed out to him the fact you didn't observe, that there were no cuffs visible, and that they had, indeed, been dragged up inside the coat-sleeves, as yours would be if you hurried into a coat without pulling your cuffs down. ”
by Butterick Pattern Company, The New Dressmaker (1921)
“ The same general principles are applied to the cuff as to the collar, and are simply adapted to suit the design of the cuff. The cuffs may be closed with buttons and buttonholes, or with buttons and loops. (Chapter 24, page 114.) Or the buttons may be simply ornamental and the closing made underneath with hooks and eyes or tiny snap fasteners. (Chapter 24, page 116.) THE CLOSING OF THE BLOUSE depends on the degree of softness and dressiness that you want to give to the blouse. The closing of the waistline is always made secure with a hook and eye, or button and loop. ”
“ But they may wear with great advantage a pelerine, or long mantle, which comes to within 2 in. of the bottom of the skirt; in that case the dress does not much matter. The fashion of tight sleeves and cuffs is very unbecoming to the hands unless they are small. The cuff ought to measure the same as the hand across the knuckles; dressmakers generally only measure the wrist, which is quite a mistake, as it is often out of proportion to the hand. ”
Irvin S. Cobb,
The Escape of Mr. Trimm
“ Merely a pair of steel rings clamped to one's wrists and coupled together with a scrap of chain, but they'll twist your arms and hamper the movements of your body in a way to constantly catch the eye of the passer-by. When a man is coming toward you, you can tell that he is handcuffed before you see the cuffs. ”
Wilfred Mark Webb, The Heritage of Dress: Being Notes on the History and Evolution of Clothes
“ It must not be forgotten that buttons have long been used on narrow sleeves. They are undone when the hand is to be pushed through the cuff, and afterwards fastened for the sake of warmth or to give a neat appearance. It is therefore possible that the ring of buttons is more properly a survival of the time when cuffs were turned back to preserve them, and that the vertical row is really of earlier origin. A uniform represented by Hogarth (Figure 30) shows both the row of buttons and the turned-back cuff, which seems to be quite independent of them. ”
Irvin S. Cobb,
My Story That I Like Best
“ He didn't mop his face, though. He unrolled the handkerchief slowly, as if it contained something immensely fragile and valuable, and then, thrusting it back in his pocket, he faced Mr. Trimm. He was carrying in his hands a pair of handcuffs that hung open-jawed. The jaws had little notches in them, like teeth that could bite. ”
Arthur Scott Bailey, The Tale of Cuffy Bear
“ It was the nicest water he had ever tasted in all his life, for it was quite sweet—just as if somebody had left a heap of honey in the bottom of the bucket. But when Cuffy licked the end of the spout with his little red tongue he found that that tasted sweet too. Yes! it certainly was a wonderful spring. Cuffy was very glad that he had found it. ”
Robert W. Krepps, Vengeance From the Past
“ Then Bill Cuff said from the back seat, "You seem pretty calm, Ray," and laughed. "That's the blood," he said admiringly. "That's the dark blood. A man would be fizzing and twitching and babbling his head off."I had determined not to think any further than the rescue of Nessa. I wasn't going to bog down in speculations as to my humanness, or the truth of this whole theory of Cuff's; but even so, the chills chased over me when he said man like that. Wasn't I altogether human? ”
Arthur Scott Bailey, The Tale of Cuffy Bear
“ And he was just going to knock it off the hook that held it when he noticed that a small spout had been driven into the tree just above the bucket. And as Cuffy stood there on his hind legs, reaching up as high as he could, he saw a tiny drop fall from the spout and go splash! into the bucket. Then, as he watched, another drop fell; and another and another and another. Cuffy wondered where they came from. It must be—he thought—that there was a spring inside that tree. Yes! he was sure of it, for the bucket was half full of water. He felt thirsty, for he had not had a drink since lunch-time. ”
Arthur Scott Bailey, The Tale of Cuffy Bear
“ VIII CUFFY LEARNS TO SWIMYes! Cuffy Bear was floating down the river on a cake of ice! How he wished he had been a good little bear and stayed at home, instead of running away to the river all alone! He was huddled up in a little black heap in the center of the cake, and crying as if his heart would break. For Cuffy thought he would never see his mother and father and Silkie again. If only he knew how to swim, like his father! But he didn't; and there he was, being swept away down the valley, right toward Farmer Green's house. It certainly was enough to make anybody weep. ”
Arthur Scott Bailey, The Tale of Cuffy Bear
“ And with that, Cuffy started to climb the old tree. It took him no time at all to hitch himself up the trunk. He shinned up just as any little boy would climb a tree. And in less time than it takes to tell it, Cuffy had reached the limb from which the nest hung, and he had stuck his paw right through the side of it.You remember that something is always happening in the forest? ”
Arthur Scott Bailey, The Tale of Cuffy Bear
“ All the way he had to walk on his hind legs, because it hurt him terribly whenever he put one of his front-paws on the ground.Cuffy wept very hard when Mrs. Bear pulled out the quills. And his paws were so sore that he could not feed himself. His mother had to put into his mouth bits of the frozen turnips that his father found in Farmer Green's field. And though afterward Cuffy did many things that he ought not to have done, he never, never touched a porcupine again. ”
W. D. F. Vincent, The Cutter's Practical Guide (1898)
“ A pocket is sometimes put in the pleats at side, and a small ticket or cash pocket is invariably put in the fore-part. The one great feature about the garment is to keep it close up at the neck, as any excess of size at that part would detract from the fit. The collar is of the ordinary stand form, and the cuff either left plain or made to form a gauntlet style of cuff as shown on diagram 49. A button stand of 1+1⁄4 inches is allowed on, so that the buttons may come just down the centre. ”
William Youatt,
The Hog
(1855)
“ Cuvier remarks that the external toe on the hind feet is wanting in the peccary. The body is of a grayish hue, and thickly covered with strong coarse bristles, stiff enough to penetrate a tolerably firm substance, and shaded black and white. These are longest on the back, where some will be found measuring four or five inches; they become gradually shorter and shorter on the sides, and disappear altogether on the belly, which is nearly bare. On the head is a large tuft of black bristles. The eyes and snout are small, the ears erect. ”
Eliot Gregory, The Ways of Men
“ The cuff most in favor can be worn four different ways, and is attached to the shirt by a steel instrument three inches long, with a nipper at each end. The amount of white visible below the coat-sleeve is regulated by another contrivance, mostly of elastic, worn further up the arm, around the biceps. ”
Crosbie Garstin, The Mud Larks
“ The chaff-cutter rocked to and fro and finally fell over on its side without anything untoward occurring. William, wiping beads from his brow, came out of cover. There was no catch in it after all. It was a perfectly genuine bit of treasure-trove. The Skipper would pat his curly head, say "Good boy," and exalt him above all the other subalterns. Bon—very bon! But how to get it home? For you cannot carry full-grown chaff-cutters about in your breeches pockets. For one thing it spoils the set of your pants. He must get a limber. Yes, but how? ”
Arthur Scott Bailey, The Tale of Cuffy Bear
“ Cuffy gave a great sigh of satisfaction. He had seen a mowing-machine. He was glad that he had come down into the valley. He was not the least bit sorry that he had disobeyed his parents and stolen away from home.Yes, Cuffy was feeling very happy as he went prowling along the border of the forest. He crept in and out of the bushes that fringed the hay-field, and was having altogether a most pleasant time; until all at once he stopped short. Cuffy's nose sniffed the air for a moment, and the hairs on his back bristled just like those on a dog when he is startled. ”
James Francis Thierry, The Adventures of the Eleven Cuff-Buttons
“ The cuff-buttons are gone,—the cuff-buttons are gone! One pair of them, anyhow. Come quick! The earl is nearly wild about it. Money's no object to him!" the apparition yelled at us.I was so completely taken aback by the way that chump had burst in on us that I spilled all the beautiful tobacco off the cigarette-paper onto the floor. ”
Estelle M. Hurll, Sir Joshua Reynolds
“ It seems very odd to find Cupid in such surroundings, and especially to see the little god hampered by the clumsy garments of mortals. They are old and ragged, the cast-off finery such as is picked up by street gamins. The child's hair is tossed about his head in unkempt locks, and altogether he looks the part to perfection. ”
Arthur Scott Bailey, The Tale of Cuffy Bear
“ Somehow, he never could learn not to strike out when he became angry. That was why he was called Cuffy. It happened sometimes that a day or two would pass without Cuffy's cuffing his sister. And Mr. Bear and Mrs. Bear would begin to think that at last Cuffy had been cured of his bad habit."I do believe the child is growing better mannered," Mrs. Bear would say to her husband, as they watched their son and daughter playing upon the floor. And then just as likely as not, the first thing they knew Cuffy would give Silkie a good, hard box on the ear, or a slap right on the end of her nose. ”
Arthur Scott Bailey, The Tale of Cuffy Bear
“ At last one afternoon when his paws were quite well again Cuffy strayed some distance down the side of Blue Mountain, He was alone, because Silkie was asleep. You know, she was younger than Cuffy and still had to take naps. Cuffy had slid and tumbled down the mountainside until he was further from home than he knew. It did seem good to be able to put his paws upon the ground again without whimpering with pain. And coming to a short, steep place, Cuffy felt so glad that he actually turned a somersault and landed in a heap at the foot of the bank. ”
Mary Roberts Rinehart,
The Circular Staircase — Chapter IV
(1908)
“ I decided to keep what clues I had, the cuff-link, the golf-stick and the revolver, in a secure place until I could see some reason for displaying them. The cuff-link had been dropped into a little filigree box on my toilet table. I opened the box and felt around for it. The box was empty—the cuff-link had disappeared! ”
Rudyard Kipling,
The Jungle Book
“ The cubs tumbled over one another in the center of the circle where their mothers and fathers sat, and now and again a senior wolf would go quietly up to a cub, look at him carefully, and return to his place on noiseless feet. Sometimes a mother would push her cub far out into the moonlight, to be sure that he had not been overlooked. ”
Arthur Scott Bailey, The Tale of Cuffy Bear
“ He never even dreamed that there could be as big a bird in the whole world. And during that one instant that Cuffy's little beady bright eyes were turned upwards he saw that the great bird had a wicked, hooked beak and claws that were as sharp as his own, and ever so much longer.One look was enough for Cuffy. He turned and tumbled down the steep cliff, head over heels, with the eagle following him. XI MRS. EAGLE IS ANGRYYes! It was an eagle's nest that Cuffy Bear had found, And Mrs. Eagle had caught him eating her eggs. It was no wonder that she was wild with rage. ”
William MacLeod Raine,
Man-Size
“ Cuffy was a prince of leaders. He seemed to know by some sixth sense the best way to wind through underbrush and over swamps. He was master of the train and ruled by strength and courage as well as intelligence. Bull had ideas of his own, but after one sharp brush with Cuffy, from which he had emerged ruffled and bleeding, the native dog relinquished claim to dominance.The travelers made about fifteen miles before noon. They came to a solitary tepee, built on the edge of a lake with a background of snow-burdened spruce. ”
Arthur Scott Bailey, The Tale of Cuffy Bear
“ They knew they'd be drowned if they did. So they lingered in a swarm above the water. They hovered there in the air and waited. And when, after a moment, Cuffy's head came up out of the pool, they swooped down and began to sting him again.Cuffy promptly ducked his head. And he swam under water to the further side of the pool and came up once more. To his surprise the bees were right there waiting for him. And he ducked under again, and swam to the opposite side, near the big boulder. And once more, when he came up to breathe, he found the buzzing bees all ready to pounce upon his nose. ”
