teddy bear

Alternative forms

• teddybear

Etymology

From Morris Michtom, the owner of a candy store in Brooklyn N.Y., who made the first “Teddy Bear” in the year 1902 in honor of then American President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt when he had heard that he had refused to shoot a bear cub on one of his hunting trips.

Pronunciation

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Noun

teddy bear (plural teddy bears)

1. A plush toy in the shape of a bear.
   • 1988, Michael Weikath, "Rise and Fall", Helloween, Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II.

     The king of Los Angeles / Bought himself a teddy bear / And the queen became shameless / She did it with a chair

   • 2021 September 22, Stephen Roberts, “The writings on the wall...”, in RAIL, number 940, page 74:

     The origin of Paddington (the bear, not the station) dates to 1956 when author Michael Bond (1926-2017) spotted a lonesome teddy bear on the shelf of a store near the station. It was Christmas Eve, so he bought the solitary bear for his wife.

2. A lovable, endearing, large, strong, hairy, or sweet man, particularly one who is gentle in spite of a burly or gruff appearance.
   • 1980 August 9, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, page 14:

     I'd like to mt you if you're a bearded ‘Teddy Bear,’ husky build, under 34 & share a career orientation.

   • 1999, “Big Men are Sexy Too - Apr 1999”, in Ebony, volume 54, number 6, page 73:

     ...the sexy "teddy bear" frontman of the '80s rap group Heavy D and the Boyz.

   • 2008, Jean A. Campbell, Taking Sexy Back: The Cure for the Sexual Blahs‎, page 124:

     This is not to say that women don't admire the Brad Pitts and George Clooneys of the world, but they're just as likely to be attracted to a big, teddy bear kind of man as the guy gracing the cover of GQ.

   • 2009, Desmond Morris, The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body‎, page 161:

     Some insisted that, because men have generally hairier bodies than women, a super-hairy chest is super-male and therefore very appealing. They added that it not only looks sexy but also feels sexy, like a teddy bear.

   • 2010, Abigail Reynolds, Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice: A Modern Love Story with a Jane...‎, page 276:

     “So I'm sort of a big teddy bear, am I?” “A sexy teddy bear.” he kissed her neck.