scruff
1 Americannoun
noun
noun
-
informal an untidy scruffy person
-
informal a disreputable person, ruffian
-
another name for scum
noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Etymology
Origin of scruff1
1780–90; variant of dial. scuff, scuft < Dutch schoft horse's withers
Origin of scruff2
Metathetic variant of scurf
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.
Scotland shipped penalty after penalty during the Argentine onslaught as players tired and Santiago Carreras took the game by the scruff of its neck.
From BBC
For good measure, Song has also saddled Evans with the worst haircut and scruff of his career.
From Los Angeles Times
“Dangerous Animals” overly underlines its point that we shouldn’t be afraid of sharks — it’s the Tuckers who ought to keep us up at night — but Courtney never captures the unfathomable malice beneath the facial scruff.
From Los Angeles Times
His flair, intelligence and ability to grab games by the scruff of the neck are qualities United's flat attack need desperately.
From BBC
England had an opportunity to grab them by the scruff of the neck and make it all about them.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
