to speak derisively; mock; jeer (often followed by at): If you can't do any better, don't scoff. Their efforts toward a peaceful settlement are not to be scoffed at.
verb (used with object)
2.
to mock at; deride.
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Scofferis always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Origin: 1300–50; Middle English scof; origin uncertain, but compare Old Norse skopa to scorn
Related forms
scoff·er, noun
scoff·ing·ly, adverb
Synonyms 1. gibe. Scoff,jeer,sneer imply behaving with scornful disapproval toward someone or about something. To scoff is to express insolent doubt or derision, openly and emphatically: to scoff at a new invention. To jeer suggests expressing disapproval and scorn more loudly, coarsely, and unintelligently than in scoffing: The crowd jeered when the batter struck out. To sneer is to show by facial expression or tone of voice ill-natured contempt or disparagement: He sneered unpleasantly in referring to his opponent's misfortunes.
c.1380, earlier as a noun, "contemptuous ridicule" (c.1300), from a Scand. source, cf. O.N. skaup, skop "mockery," M.Dan. skof "jest, mockery;" perhaps from P.Gmc. *skub-, *skuf- (cf. O.E. scop "poet," O.H.G. scoph "fiction, sport, jest, derision;" see scold), from PIE *skeub- "to shove."
tv. & in. to eat (something). (See also scarf.) : She scoffed three hamburgers and a large order of fries.
n. food. : This scoff is gross!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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