spiffing

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspɪfɪŋ/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪfɪŋ

Adjective

spiffing (comparative more spiffing, superlative most spiffing)

1. (British, colloquial, dated) Very good, excellent.

   We're having a picnic at the races — how spiffing!

2. (British, colloquial, dated) Smart or appealing in dress or appearance.

   I say, that outfit is simply spiffing.

   • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 1]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

     I have a lovely pair with a hair strip, grey. You'll look spiffing in them.

   • 2007, "Spiffing new image", Times Online, London, 18 May (retrieved 14 June 2007),

     Spiffing new image: ITV is developing an updated version of Spitting Image, with CGI graphics.

Usage notes

• Typically associated with the British upper class; often used in imitation of upper-class speakers.

Synonyms

• spiffy
• spliffy

Derived terms

• spiffingly

Verb

spiffing

1. present participle and gerund of spiff

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.