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Slang dictionary results for duff
Synonyms

duff

1 American  
[duhf] / dʌf /

noun

Slang.
  1. the buttocks or rump.

    If you don't like the way things are, get off your duff and do something about it!


duff 2 American  
[duhf] / dʌf /

noun

  1. a stiff flour pudding, boiled or steamed and often flavored with currants, citron, and spices.


duff 3 American  
[duhf] / dʌf /

verb (used with object)

Slang.
duffs, present (3rd person singular) duffed, past participle, past duffing present participle
  1. to give a deliberately deceptive appearance to; misrepresent; fake.

  2. British. (in golf ) to misplay (a golf ball), especially to misjudge one's swing so that the club strikes the ground behind the ball before hitting it.

  3. Australian.

    1. to steal (cattle).

    2. (formerly) to alter the brand on (stolen cattle).

  4. to cheat someone.


duff 4 American  
[duhf] / dʌf /

noun

  1. organic matter in various stages of decomposition on the floor of the forest.

  2. fine, dry coal, especially anthracite.


duff 1 British  
/ dʌf /

verb

  1. slang to change the appearance of or give a false appearance to (old or stolen goods); fake

  2. slang to steal (cattle), altering the brand

  3. Also: sclaffinformal golf to bungle (a shot) by hitting the ground behind the ball

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. informal bad or useless, as by not working out or operating correctly; dud

    a duff idea

    a duff engine

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
duff 2 British  
/ dʌf /

noun

  1. a thick flour pudding, often flavoured with currants, citron, etc, and boiled in a cloth bag

    plum duff

  2. slang pregnant

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

duff 3 British  
/ dʌf /

noun

  1. slang the rump or buttocks

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of duff1

First recorded in 1885–90; expressive word, perhaps akin to doup

Origin of duff2

First recorded in 1830–40; dialectal variant ( Scots, North England) of dough

Origin of duff3

First recorded in 1830–40; back formation from duffer, in the slang senses “something inferior or counterfeit” or “a peddler of inferior goods”

Origin of duff4

First recorded in 1835–45; originally Scots dialect; perhaps metaphorical use of duff 2, by association with Scots dowf “decayed, rotten,” deaf “(of soil) unproductive, springy to the tread”; see dowf

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And Bianca doesn’t want to be a DUFF.

From Time • Nov. 19, 2014

But that’s exactly what she is as Bianca in The DUFF, a teen comedy slated for 2015 based on Kody Keplinger’s novel by the same name.

From Time • Nov. 19, 2014

DUFF, old chap, your Goose is dragging her anchor again, back her engines a bit, or there'll be a foul....

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 103, September 10, 1892 by Various

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