duffer

[duhf-er]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR duffer ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Informal.

a plodding, clumsy, incompetent person.
a person inept or inexperienced at a specific sport, as golf.

Northern and North Midland U.S. an old man, especially a dull or indecisive one.

Slang.

anything inferior, counterfeit, or useless.
a peddler, especially one who sells cheap, flashy goods.

Origin of duffer

1835–45; perhaps Scots dialect duffar, dowfart “dull, stupid person,” derivative of dowf; def 3 perhaps re-formation with duff³ + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for duffer

clod, donkey, dunce, blunderer, butterfingers, klutz, dolt, bonehead, idiot, butcher, botcher, incompetent, fool, numskull, blockhead, ignoramus, bumbler, spoiler, foul-up, goofball

Examples from the Web for duffer

Historical Examples of duffer

Diplomatists never do know anything official, do they, Duffer dear?
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
My dear sir, perhaps you don't know that my nickname since the age of five has been 'Duffer?'
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
But Duffer dear, honestly and truly it isn't for myself I'm afraid.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
What do you think of me, Duffer—and after all the proofs we've just had of the dangerous creature I am?
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
Lend a hand, Duffer, and we'll give him to the Nubians the girls have brought.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson

British Dictionary definitions for duffer

duffer

noun

informal a dull or incompetent person

slang something worthless

dialect a peddler or hawker

Australian slang

a mine that proves unproductive
a person who steals cattle

Word Origin for duffer

C19: of uncertain origin

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

Word Origin and History for duffer

"inept person; old man," especially "bad golfer," 1842, perhaps from Scottish duffar "dull or stupid person," from dowf "stupid," literally "deaf," from Old Norse daufr, with pejorative suffix -art. Or perhaps from 18c. thieves' slang duff (v.) "to dress or manipulate an old thing and make it look new."