spiff

English

Etymology

Pronunciation
  • Rhymes: -ɪf

Noun

spiff (plural spiffs)

  1. (uncountable) Attractiveness or charm in dress, appearance, or manner
    Without a diploma, he relies on spiff alone to climb the corporate ladder.
  2. (countable, dated) A well-dressed man
  3. (countable, sales jargon) A bonus or other remuneration, given for reaching a sales goal or promoting the goods of a particular manufacturer. Originally from textile retailing, a percentage given for selling off surplus or out-of-fashion stock, of which the sales person could offer part as a discount to a customer.
  4. (countable, colloquial, Jamaica) a hand-rolled marijuana cigarette; a joint
    • 2000, Leone Ross, Tasting Songs, in Dark Matter (ed. Sheree R. Thomas), p76
      She rolled a spiff for us as she spoke, sifting the ganja between her fingers...
    • 2004, Sander L. Gilman, Xun Zhou, Smoke: A Global History of Smoking, p144
      ...someone else built a spiff which he lit and gave to me...

Verb

spiff (third-person singular simple present spiffs, present participle spiffing, simple past and past participle spiffed)

  1. (usually with up) to make spiffy (attractive, polished, or up-to-date)
    Our productivity would surely increase if we'd just spiff up this office a bit.
  2. to reward (a salesperson) with a spiff.
  3. to throw.
    I spiffed the turf over the edge and it went straight through the window and hit the officer.

Synonyms

Derived terms

See also
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