[‘ Money, cash.']
Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈuːftɪʃ/, U.S. /ˈuftɪʃ/
Forms: 18 *ouftish*, 18– *ooftish*.
Etymology:Apparently an alteration of Yiddish /afn tish/ (perhaps with regional pronunciation of- or ōf-) in gelt afn tish money on the table < /gelt/ gelt n.2 + af on, on to ( < Middle High German /uf/, ouf: see up prep.1) + -n, oblique form of definite article + tish table ( < Middle High German /tisch/: see dish n.), after German (nonstandard) auf Tisch on the table, i.e. (money) laid on the table, (money) down, although the occurrence of a high rounded back vowel is unexplained. Compare German /auftischen/ to set on the table, serve up.
In the following earlier quot. apparently used as an adjective and in a different sense:
1882 M. E. Braddon /Mount Royal/ III. viii. 170 ‘It will be too lovely—too utterly ouftish,’ exclaimed Dopsy, who had lately acquired this last flower of speech.
However, compare the following:
1892 J. W. Pearce in /Mod. Society/ 16 Jan., ‘Oof’ as a current pseudonym for money has been in use for about seven years, but ‘ooftish’, which also is Whitechapel slang for coin of the realm, has been in use in England over thirty years.
/slang/. Now arch.
Money, cash.
1897 W. S. Maugham /Liza of Lambeth/ iii. 34 ‘There’s only goin’ ter be people in the street. Eh, Liza?’ ‘Na, I can’t.’ ‘Why not?’ ‘I ain’t got—I ain’t got the ooftish.’
1921 /Quick March/ 11 July 13 Everybody..must think every day of money, but although one may think ‘money’ he may call it ‘gonce’, ‘oof’, ‘hoot’, ‘stuff’, ‘ooftish’.., or a dozen other..things.
1962 I. Guest /Empire Ballet/ vi. 41 The East End (Yiddish) term, ooftish, meaning money.
1994 R. A. Leonard in J. L. Digaetani /Money/ i. 10 Here are a few older slang terms for money: dough, jack.., wad, oof, ooftish, yellow boys, thick ‘uns.