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This term to me seems so distinctly UK it is not a good choice to apply to American casual
clothing. Here's what word-detective had to say about it:
"Mufti the Bowtie Slayer.
Dear Word Detective: I would be very grateful for any explanation regarding the origin of the
word "mufti." This is an expression commonly used to describe casual business dress code in
the U.K. I suspect this word may stem from British colonial rule in India, but I am unable to
substantiate this theory. -- Matthew Martin, via the internet.
Close, as we say in the U.S., but no cigar, although it was a very good guess. This is the first
time I've heard the word "mufti" applied to "Casual Day" in offices, probably because "mufti" is
more commonly heard in the U.K. than in the U.S. Not that U.S. workers are slouches when it
comes to slouching, of course. I worked for many years in an office, and took great pride in
forging my own personal "Casual Day" all week long. I would just periodically declare, in the
most ominous tone I could muster, "I'm very sorry, but I cannot wear a necktie. Neckties cause
insanity," and my superiors would leave me alone.
Strictly speaking, "mufti" (pronounced MUFF-tee) refers to civilian clothes worn by someone,
such as a member of the military, who ordinarily wears a uniform. A soldier on leave, for
instance, might well relish the chance to lounge around "in mufti" and not worry about polishing
a lot of silly brass (either literally or metaphorically).
"Mufti" is indeed a relic of the British colonial experience, though its roots are in the Middle
East, not India. A "mufti" is a Muslim judge, from the Arabic word meaning "to give a legal
decision," the same word that gave us "fatwa" or "fetwa" (religious decree), brought to popular
attention by the Iranian death sentence proclaimed against author Salman Rushdie a few years
ago.
Just how an Arabic word for a Muslim jurist came to mean "casual dress" is a bit unclear. But
experts theorize that the first use of "mufti" in English was in reference to the costumes used to
portray Arab potentates in popular Western stage dramas in the 19th century. These getups
were highly exotic and colorful, making "mufti" a fitting metaphor for a style of dress that was
as un-military as possible. "
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old hand
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>This term to me seems so distinctly UK
But not solely UK. Mufti is used here to describe clothes worn when not in uniform. Most secondary schools here require students towear uniforms, and "mufti days" are a useful generator of revenue, the students paying for the privilege of wearing mufti. Also, unmarked police vehicles are often called mufti cars.
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Pooh-Bah
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I've never heard it in use here in the U.S. Where is Akina?
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>Where is Akina?
It's in Heretaunga.
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Carpal Tunnel
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>Where is Akina?
It's in Heretaunga.
I'm only guessing here, but this looks suspiciously akin to saying YCLIU...
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I've heard it used in the US, but I seem to have this feeling that it was an affectation or being used humorously or both.
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>I'm only guessing here, but this looks suspiciously akin to saying YCLIU...
"The mere thought," growled Mr Prosser, "hadn't even begun to
speculate," he continued, settling himself back, "about the
merest possibility of crossing my mind."
However, now that you mention it, if anyone did care to LIU, with both place names, the question would be answered in some considerable detail.
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Dear sjm: I have never been able to find any useful information about either place.
I even get stuff about Africa and Muslim matters.
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Dr. Bill, that surpises me. I just googled "Akina Heretaunga", without the quote marks, and found only 42 references, many of which mentioned specific addresses within 10 minutes walk from my own house.
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Dear sjm: When I searched for just Akina, I got among other things a travel agency on Maui;, Hawaii.
Then when you mentiond Heretaunga, I got stuff with only clue mention of NZ.
And when I searched for them together, I still got nothing more than a reference to NZ.
And NZ is not just a dot on the map. I promise I'm not planning to stalk you. Bill
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>And NZ is not just a dot on the map. I promise I'm not planning to stalk you. Bill
It wouldn't bother me if you did, Dr. Bill. I can only repeat what I said earlier - googling Akina Heretaunga (exactly that phrase) turned up only 42 references, many to specfic addresses within 10 minutes of my house.
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Dear sjm: Could you use a phone book as a map? The last time I tried to find out where Akina
was, I couldn't find any map to help. Someone did give me some URLs with more map stuff, but
I'm not sure I can find it. I have a Word97 four page file of URLs, but it is not organized. I'l go
comb through that to see if I can find a helpful map.
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Pooh-Bah
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In reply to:
I'm only guessing here, but this looks suspiciously akin to saying YCLIU...
Really, it is even more coy than saying YCLIU. And of course I could look it up, since the person in question doesn't seem interested in sharing, but somehow my interest is waning.
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Sorry, Alex. I'm just playing. NZ has two official languages, and I've taken to giving my location in the other one. I tend to give my location as
Akina (suburb - no English equivalent)
Heretaunga (city)
Te Ika a Maui (island)
Aotearoa (country)
In the immortal words of Sybill Fawlty - "Pretentious? Moi?"
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Dear Max: Now I'm beginning to get the picture. I have found a map of New Zealand, and at one point had the outline of "Antaroa(is it?) in view, but no details are likely to be obtainable. However, I am much happier having an approximate idea of where you are. Makes you seem more real. Here's the URL if you should want to give it to anybody else. It is a bit tricky.There is a small square in upper left, with faint outline of North and South Islands. Clicking there gives a small square that is enlarged, with names of major places printed. I'll still having to experiment to see how much detail I can get. http://www.geographynetwork.co.nz/website/NZTopo_wgs84/viewer.htm
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Hey, Max! That map has more tricks than a barrel of monkeys! It can do the most amazing
things, but I can't yet make it show me Antaroa. You might have fun playing with it Bill
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I can make some changes, but not consistently the ones I want. I sure wish it had a help
place, with some clues to make it do what I want.
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It probably doesn't show Antaroa because it doesn't exist. NZ's official Maaori name is Aotearoa, "the land of the long white cloud", once referred to by Sitiveni Rabuka as "the land of the wrong white crowd."
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Dear Max: my short term memory gets worse every day. But I guess I've found what i wanted.
Aotearoa (Land of the Long White
Cloud)
New Zealand
Heretaunga
Hawke's Bay
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enthusiast
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I've heard it used in the US, but I seem to have this feeling that it was an affectation or being used humorously or both.
Here (in Canada), my boss, a nurse, once referred to working in the community in mufti -- that is the only time I have heard the word.
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Carpal Tunnel
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I know of mufti as a not-particularly-obscure word meaning civilian clothes worn by a usually-uniformed soldier, whatever the branch of service, but [here in New England] in no other context. Casual Friday doesn't have a single-word equivalent that I've encountered.
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addict
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The inernet has converted us all into a mufti humanity! 
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