shuftin.
/ˈʃʊfti/, /ˈʃʌfti/, U.S. /ˈʃʊfti/ slang (originally Military).
A look or glance. Esp. in to take (or have) a shufti.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (intransitive)] > look or behold
belookeOE
lookeOE
beseec1000
stareOE
showOE
beholdc1175
seec1225
heedc1275
witec1320
advisec1325
to see to ——a1375
rewarda1382
to cast an eye, glance, lookc1385
blush?a1400
glift?a1400
visea1400
considerc1400
vizy1513
regard1523
spectate1709
to have a see1839
look-see1862
vision1898
screw1905
shufti1943
to take (or have) a shufti1943
1943 Gen 16 Jan. 11/2 Take a shufti at that. That's Stephanie.
1947 D. M. Davin Gorse blooms Pale 201 She took another good shufty at us.
1965 J. Porter Dover Two x. 133 Take a shufty at this lot!
1971 Whillans & Ormerod Don Whillans x. 81 ‘Let's have a shufti at that description then,’ said Joe, and we both examined the piece of paper covered with Snell's handwriting.
1980 R. Adams Girl in Swing xix. 245 Good idea, old boy. I'm game. Let's 'ave a crafty shufti round with that in mind, shall we?
Compounds
shufti-kite n. a reconnaissance aircraft.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > used in warfare > scout or reconnaissance aircraft
scout1909
air scout1910
spotter plane1923
spotter1931
spotter aircraft1932
shufti-kite1944
1944 T. H. Wisdom Triumph over Tunisia 172 When the Hun shufti-kites were kept away..the U.S. Second Corps moved..to the coastal stretch in the north.
shufti-scope n. a probe (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > instruments for observing > [noun]
sight tube1851
shufti-scope1948
1948 E. Partridge et al. Dict. Forces' Slang 169 Shuftiscope, instrument used by doctors for exploring the interior of a dysentery case. A telescope or periscope.
1962 Times 12 Apr. 9/4 When officers were making a routine check of the vehicle with an instrument they call a ‘shufti-scope’ they found the watches. Mr. Eaton explained that the ‘shufti-scope’ is an instrument consisting of a probe with a light through which it is possible to see into cavities.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
shuftiv.
/ˈʃʊfti/, /ˈʃʌfti/, U.S. /ˈʃʊfti/ slang (chiefly Military). Now rare.
intransitive. To look or watch; to glance. Frequently in imperative.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military operations > [verb (intransitive)] > reconnoitre
akenc1400
scurry1580
reknowledge1582
reconnoitre1777
observe1799
spot1892
recce1943
shufti1943
recon1966
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (intransitive)] > look or behold
belookeOE
lookeOE
beseec1000
stareOE
showOE
beholdc1175
seec1225
heedc1275
witec1320
advisec1325
to see to ——a1375
rewarda1382
to cast an eye, glance, lookc1385
blush?a1400
glift?a1400
visea1400
considerc1400
vizy1513
regard1523
spectate1709
to have a see1839
look-see1862
vision1898
screw1905
shufti1943
to take (or have) a shufti1943
1943 C. H. Ward-Jackson It's a Piece of Cake 54 Shufty, look, watch. Thus, the orderly room sergeant to a Waaf clerk as he sights a squadron of Liberators through the headquarters' window, ‘Shufty!’
1947 Amer. Speech 22 267 The word shufti was among the most commonly used, comprehending in its meaning both the noun and the verb ‘look’..‘to shufti around’ [etc.].
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1943v.1943