| 释义 |
▪ I. quiff, n.1 U.S. and dial.|kwɪf|
Also quift.
[Var. of whiff n.1]
1. A puff or whiff of tobacco smoke. Also fig.
1831J. M. Galloway Poems 27 Thou'st warm'd my nose at mony a speil; Ae quiff o' thee [sc. a pipe] Has made me play wi' care and skill. 1840Southern Lit. Messenger VI. 447/2 A quiff would now and again ascend and hang like a tropical cloud over the hemisphere of his cranium. 1866J. E. Brogden Provincial Words 159 Quiff, a puff. Ex. Should you like a quiff? 1876F. K. Robinson Gloss. Whitby 149/2 Quiff, a whiff, a puff of smoke, an exhalation. ‘I got a quiff on 't,’ caught the scent. 1889Brighouse News 14 Sept. 3/7 Hah nivver heeard a quift on't.
2. A puff or blast of wind.
1912J. Masefield Dauber v. 268 She came within two shakes of turning top, Or stripping all her shroud-screws, that first quiff.
▪ II. quiff, n.2 dial. and slang (esp. naut.).
[Origin unknown.]
A clever trick or dodge; a hint.
1881Advertiser Notes & Queries I. 77/2 Quiff. What is the origin of this word, so often used in the sentence, ‘I'll teach thee a quiff’, meaning something clever. It is often heard in Cheshire. 1890Barrère & Leland Dict. Slang II. 164 Quiff..(Tailors), a word used in expressing an idea that a satisfactory result may be obtained by other than strictly recognised rules or principles. 1925Fraser & Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 223 Quiff, a, any specially ingenious smart, tricky, or novel or improvised way of doing anything. (Navy). In the Army used of any drill method peculiar to a battalion, and not usually done in others. Where the wording of the Drill Book is vague, units often read different meanings into the phraseology and invent their own ‘Quiffs’. 1925N. Lucas Autobiogr. of Crook v. 72 I'll give you one quiff, right now, because I like your face and your nerve. Never touch the dope, it's hell—and worse than that. 1928Weekly Dispatch 13 May 10/4 Suddenly a faint grey blur on the horizon in the expected direction. The seaman blinks his eyes—an old quiff which prevents many a false alarm—and then makes his report. 1933J. Masefield Bird of Dawning 107 It was young Mr. Abbott worked that quiff on you, sir. 1961F. H. Burgess Dict. Sailing 166 Quiff, a trick or artifice that makes a job easier.
▪ III. quiff, n.3
Also quif.
[Origin obscure: cf. quiff n.1]
A curl or lock of hair plastered down on the forehead, worn orig. by soldiers; more recently, a tuft of hair brushed upwards over the forehead. Also attrib.
1890Barrère & Leland Dict. Slang II. 164 Quiff (military), the small curl on a soldier's temple just showing under his glengarry or forage cap. 1908Daily Chron. 19 Mar. 4/4 He wears a quif of hair soaped down on his forehead in a slimy arc that nearly touches his eyebrows. 1919H. G. Jenkins John Dene of Toronto xvi. 255 He's quite a nice youth, with black hair greased into what I think he would call a ‘quiff’. 1925H. G. Wells Christina Alberta's Father ii. iii. 224 He had..highly oiled and entirely subjugated sandy hair with an army ‘quif’ on the forehead. 1929P. Gibbs Hidden City xlii. 206 Revealing his well-plastered hair curled into a quiff over his forehead. 1953N. Jacob Morning will Come iv. 72 A man with a short clipped beard and his hair parted in what was called a ‘militiaman's quiff’. 1965M. Bradbury Stepping Westward ii. 108 He could see the quiffs of his three cabin⁓mates as they moved round getting dressed. 1968J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 197 Quiff, where the hair falls forward over the forehead before being brushed back. Made fashionable by Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard, so adapted for girls. 1969H. E. Bates Vanished World iii. 38 There were..plenty of men who were great dandies in that generation [his grandfather's]— the moustache-waxers, the quiff-plasterers, [etc.]. 1976Times 8 Mar. 6/3 Mr Reagan..is certainly the best turned out candidate. The 1950s quiff is immaculate.
▪ IV. quiff, n.4 dial. and slang.
[Origin obscure: cf. quiff v.1]
A young woman; spec. a prostitute, a ‘tart’.
1923G. Watson Roxburghshire Word-bk. 244 Queef,..an engaging girl. 1931Amer. Speech VI. 440 Quiff, a cheap prostitute. 1966R. H. Rimmer Harrad Experiment 107 ‘This looks like a rich quiff,’ King Arthur said. ‘I think we'll look into her suitcase.’ 1973L. Snelling Heresy i. i. 6 If only there was some other quiff about I might be able to deal with her indifference.
▪ V. † quiff, v.1 Obs. coarse slang.
[Origin obscure.]
intr. To copulate with. As ˈquiffing vbl. n. in quots.
1719T. Durfey Wit & Mirth V. 243 By quiffing with Cullies three Pound she had got. 1796Grose Dict. Vulgar T. (rev. ed.), Quiffing, rogering.
▪ VI. quiff, v.2
[f. quiff n.3]
trans. To arrange hair into a quiff. Also with up.
1940R. Lehmann in Folios of New Writing Spring 101 There was one [sailor] in particular, large, with a genial, knobby raw-beef face and a flaxen curl quiffed up in the forefront of his sailor cap. 1972Daily Tel. 24 Jan. 11/5 Fringes can be quiffed up too. 1977West Briton 25 Aug. 5/8 They turned up in three-quarter length jackets, drainpipe trousers and shoelace ties. Their hair was quiffed and oiled. |