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Boffin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the slang of the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, boffins are scientists, engineers, and other people who are stereotypically seen as engaged in technical or scientific research. The word conjures up an image of men in thick spectacles and white lab coats, obsessively working with complicated apparatus. Portrayals of boffins emphasize both their eccentric genius and their naive ineptitude in social interaction. They are, in that respect, closer to the "absent-minded professor" stereotype than to the classic mad scientist. Alec Guinness's character in the film The Man in the White Suit (1951) is a classic example of an eccentric and obsessed boffin.