Tiff vs Toff - What's the difference?
tiff | toff |
A small argument; a petty quarrel.
* 1840 , William Makepeace Thackeray, Catherine: A Story
Liquor; especially, a small draught of liquor.
* Sir Walter Scott
(obsolete) An elegantly dressed person.
(British) A person of the upper class- or high-class-pretence who usually communicates an air of superiority.
* 1972 , New Scientist, Vol. 55, No. 812, "
* 1998 , The Billboard, April 11th issue,
* 2012 , How the Dice Fell , by John Roberts, page 186
As nouns the difference between tiff and toff
is that tiff is a small argument; a petty quarrel while toff is an elegantly dressed person.As a verb tiff
is to quarrel.As an acronym TIFF
is tagged image file format.As a proper noun Tiff
is a nickname for Tiffany.tiff
English
Etymology 1
Originally, a sniff, sniffing; compare Icelandic word for a smell.Noun
(en noun)- There’s Tom, now, since this tiff with Mrs. Cat, the scoundrel plays the Grand Turk here!
- sipping his tiff of brandy punch.
Synonyms
* See alsoEtymology 2
Middle English tiffen, (etyl) tiffer, (tifer), to bedizen; compare D. (tippen) to clip the points or ends of the hair, English tip (noun).Anagrams
* English intransitive verbstoff
English
Noun
(en noun)A groundling's notebook" by Donald Gould
- I came home first class — up the front end with the toffs — semi-anaesthetised throughout the trip by caviar and free champagne — and to hell with frugality and the conservation of resources.
page 34, Paul McCartney's remark on the right margin:
- George Martin always seemed to me to be a "toff " and a gentleman even though his roots, like many of us, were in the common people. George has a touch of class that is quite impressive.
- I like to see the toffs' being ' toffs . The women all glammed up]], the blokes in their tails and [[top hat, top 'ats, all braying and flinging their money around. Confirms all my prejudices. Just a reminder of who my enemies are.