Curious if the original usage is known. Cute word.
Presumably a variation on “beefcake” which supposedly spawned from some college campus in the '90s (according to wordwizard.com) but likely earlier. Popularized by Judy Tenuta.
The awesome comic strip Eyebeam had a character nicknamed Studmuffins in the early 80’s:
I have to agree with beowulff with the anecdote that I got detention from Sister Margo for using studmuffin (as an interpreted swear word but really as a playground insult during some kickball trash talking) on the playground in the Spring of 1985. I just confirmed this with my mother- so there is my cite!
“Beefcake” surely being derived from “cheesecake,” used widely at least since the 1940s (and always about women).
I got called that in the 1970s.
That’s all I got.
An attractive male
or, etc.
Like beowulff, I first saw the term in Eyebeam. At the time I was attending the University of Texas at Austin, where Sam Hurt wrote the strip for the Daily Texan. “Studmuffins” quickly became a popular phrase around campus.
Small correction: The Eyebeam character was named Rodney Rutherford III (Rod). His girlfriend called him “Studmuffins”.
My (not very talented) garage program-rock band in high school wanted to be the Studmuffins for the school talent show, but this was nixed by the teachers. We had to go as Dain Bramage instead.
This would have been in 1988.