Bow-Tie

n. The emblem of the smof. New York fan Ben Yalow, a longtime conrunner, has always sported one — in lieu, we suppose, of the idiosyncratic headgear that distinguishes certain other fans — and, since the 1970s, it has come to symbolize the entire smoffish tribe. (It used to be a bow-tie and briefcase, but since the advent of computers and PDAs, smofs don't carry quite so much paper around, although a briefcase is still handy for carrying the Holy Floor Plans.)

by Leah Zeldes Smith from Ditto 14 Progress Report 1