raff
/raf/(also reeaf)
noun
1Worthless material; trash, rubbish, refuse. Also occasionally: miscellaneous material, odds and ends. Now Scottish and English regional (chiefly northern ).
2People of the lowest social class considered collectively; disreputable or undesirable people.
3With the: the most disreputable or the lowest element of a class, community, etc.; the common run of people; the rabble.
4A base, worthless person; a member of the riff-raff.
- Originally used by members of the University of Oxford to denote a townsman..
Origin
Late Middle English (in an earlier sense). Apparently partly short for riff and raff one and all, everyone, everything, and partly (especially in later use) shortened from riff-raff. Compare raffle. However, the relationship between the senses of the word presents various uncertainties.
- the Whore of Babylon
- the windows of the soul
- the wish is father to the thought
- the witching hour
- the Word (of God)
- the word on the street
- the work of ——
- the world and his wife
- the world is your oyster
- the world, the flesh, and the devil
- the worried well
- the worse for drink
- the worse for wear
- the writing (or handwriting) is on the wall
- the Writings
- the wrong side of the tracks
- the wrong way round
- thewy
- they
- they-all
- they-all's
- they'd
- the year dot
- the yellow peril
- they'll