# Todd

/ˈtɑd/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/todd
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. on your own

noun · CEFR C2 · British English · Informal

to be by yourself, without anyone else.

For teachers: used in the phrase 'on one's todd' to mean alone or solitary. Derived from the Cockney rhyming slang 'Tod Sloan' (a famous jockey) for 'alone'.

- I didn't want to go to the cinema on my todd, so I asked a friend to come.
- He spent the entire weekend on his todd in the countryside, seeking a brief respite from the relentless noise of the city.

Usage: Almost exclusively used in the prepositional phrase 'on one's todd'.

### 2. a male fox

noun · CEFR C2 · Dialect · Informal

an old or informal word for a male fox.

For teachers: a dialectal or informal term for a fox, specifically a male one. Primarily found in Northern English and Scottish contexts.

- The farmer spotted a clever todd creeping near the chicken coop at night.
- The hounds lost the scent when the wily todd doubled back through the stream, demonstrating the cunning for which the species is known.

Teaching tip: This sense is rare in modern urban English; learners will mostly encounter it in rural dialects or older literature.

## Examples

- Don't be such a Todd and just help us out.
- He acted like a total Todd at the party, complaining about the music and the snacks all night.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.