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spiffy

 - 5 dictionary results

spiff⋅y

  [spif-ee]
Use spiffy in a Sentence
–adjective, spiff⋅i⋅er, spiff⋅i⋅est. Informal.
spruce; smart; fine.
Also, spif⋅fing  [spif-ing] ; especially British, spivvy, spivving.

Origin:
1855–60; dial. spiff well-dressed (orig. uncert.) + -y 1

Related forms:
spiff⋅i⋅ly, adverb
spiff⋅i⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To spiffy
spiff·y   (spĭf'ē)   
adj.   spiff·i·er, spiff·i·est
Smart in appearance or dress; stylish.
tr.v.   spiff·ied, spiff·y·ing, spiff·ies
To make attractive, stylish, or up-to-date: spiffying up my wardrobe.

[Possibly from dialectal spiff, dandified.]
spiff'i·ly adv., spiff'i·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
spiffy [ˈspɪfi]

  1. mod.
    excellent. : This is a real spiffy place you've got here, Sam.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

spiffy 
1853, of uncertain origin, probably related to spiff "well-dressed man." Spiffing "excellent" was very popular in 1870s slang. Uncertain relationship to spiff (n.) "percentage allowed by drapers to their young men when they effect sale of old fashioned or undesirable stock" (1859), or to spiflicate "confound, overcome completely," a cant word from 1749 preserved in Amer.Eng. slang spiflicated "drunk," first recorded 1906 in O.Henry.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Computing Dictionary

spiffy
/spi'fee/ 1. Said of programs having a pretty, clever, or exceptionally well-designed interface. "Have you seen the spiffy X version of empire yet?" This was common mainstream slang during the 1940s.
2. Said sarcastically of a program that is perceived to have little more than a flashy interface going for it. Which meaning should be drawn depends delicately on tone of voice and context.
[The Jargon File]

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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