StudMuffin

Straight women and gay men, I need your help. In this entry, our friend MadPriest has asked for a definition of "studmuffin." Remember, friends, he's on the other side of the pond, and sometimes our wacky Americanisms are a mystery to him.

I have an intuitive sense of what the term means: a guy who's attractive not merely because of his looks, but also his charm. I think it refers to a guy who's attractive, but with a soft side. But what's your definition?

Doing a Google search, I found these definitions:

• The StudMuffin is . . . purported to possess stellar charm, a razor-sharp wit and a magnetic personality that is irresistible to women.
• a word derived for a man who is in part perceived by females as a stud and with such a word as muffin added meaning that females also want to devour such a man as muffin would be from an oven

But I don't think those definitions capture what "studmuffin" means to me. I think I recognize one when I see him. But how would you define the qualities that make us call a male a "studmuffin"?

By the way, for those of you who haven't been reading here faithfully, this discussion arises because I referred to my cat Scotty as a "studmuffin." I know he is one; I just can't articulate why I know that term is apt.