ton-up kid/boy

n

British

a teenage or young adult motorcyclist, a precursor of the rocker. Ton-up boys were the bugbears of the popular press in the late 1950s. 'A ton' or 'the ton' was 100 mph, the goal of the leather-jacketed groups who gathered near suburban by-passes and main roads to stage informal speed trials and races or to go for a 'burn-up' (to drive as quickly as possible, sim-ply for the enjoyment of speed).

► 'The BBC broadcast of "Morning Service" from Keele University, Staffs, yesterday was interrupted when a record about "ton-up" boys was heard above the hymn singing. A loudspeaker was found hidden behind a stage in the chapel.' (Daily Telegraph, 25 January 1965)