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Duff vs Muff - What's the difference?

duff | muff |

In lang=en terms the difference between duff and muff

is that duff is the bits left in the bottom of the bag after the booty has been consumed, like crumbs while muff is a muffin.

As nouns the difference between duff and muff

is that duff is dough while muff is a piece of fur or cloth, usually with open ends, used for keeping the hands warm.

As verbs the difference between duff and muff

is that duff is to disguise something to make it look new while muff is to drop or mishandle (the ball, a catch etc.); to play badly.

As an adjective duff

is worthless; not working properly, defective.

As a proper noun Duff

is {{surname}.

duff

English

Etymology 1

Representing a northern pronunciation of (dough).

Noun

(en noun)
  • (dialectal) Dough.
  • A stiff flour pudding, often with dried fruit, boiled in a cloth bag, or steamed
  • * 1901 , , short story The Ghosts of Many Christmases'', published in ''Children of the Bush [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/7065]:
    • The storekeeper had sent them an unbroken case of canned plum pudding, and probably by this time he was wondering what had become of that blanky case of duff .

    Etymology 2

    Origin uncertain; probably imitative.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (Scotland, US) Decaying vegetable matter on the forest floor.
  • * 1999 , (George RR Martin), A Clash of Kings , Bantam 2011, p. 366:
    • Out under the trees, some rangers had found enough duff and dry wood to start a fire beneath a slanting ridge of slate.
  • Coal dust.
  • (slang) The bits left in the bottom of the bag after the booty has been consumed, like crumbs.
  • Something spurious or fake; a counterfeit, a worthless thing.
  • An error.

    • Adjective

    (er)
  • (UK) Worthless; not working properly, defective.
    • Why do I always get a shopping trolley with duff wheels?
  • * 1996 , , State of Desire , page 155,
    • From its surface, he insisted, plain food became ambrosia, water nectar, and the duffest dope would blow your mind.
  • * 2003 , , page 315,
    • One will win the coveted Hollywood Science Award, which, in Robert?s words “is given in recognition of the duffest science in movie-dom” so it will be worth tuning in to find out what movie stunt wins.
  • * 2009 , , Paperboy , page 225,
    • All the other parts were played by a gallery of Dickensian character actors, including Thorley Walters, Francis Matthews and, yes, Michael Ripper, who lent gravitas to the duffest dialogue lines.
    Synonyms
    * (defective) bum (US)

    Etymology 3

    Origin uncertain; perhaps the same as Etymology 1, above.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (US, slang) The buttocks.

    • Etymology 4

    Originally thieves' slang; probably a back-formation from (duffer).

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (slang, obsolete) To disguise something to make it look new.
  • (Australia) To alter the branding of stolen cattle; to steal cattle.
  • To beat up.
    • I heard Nick got duffed up behind the shopping centre at the weekend.
  • (US, golf) To hit the ground behind the ball.
    • Related terms
    * duffer

    See also

    * up the duff

    muff

    English

    (wikipedia muff)

    Etymology 1

    Probably from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (lb) A piece of fur or cloth, usually with open ends, used for keeping the hands warm.
  • *
  • *:Selwyn, sitting up rumpled and cross-legged on the floor, after having boloed Drina to everybody's exquisite satisfaction, looked around at the sudden rustle of skirts to catch a glimpse of a vanishing figure—a glimmer of ruddy hair and the white curve of a youthful face, half-buried in a muff .
  • (lb) Female pubic hair; the vulva.
  • (lb) A blown cylinder of glass which is afterward flattened out to make a sheet.
  • The feathers sticking out from both sides of the face under the beak of some birds.
  • A short hollow cylinder surrounding an object such as a pipe.
    • Synonyms
    * whiskers, beard, muff and beard (bird feathers)
    Related terms
    * muff-diver * muff-diving * muff pistol

    Etymology 2

    Origin unknown; perhaps a specialised use of Etymology 1, above.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (colloquial) A fool, a stupid or poor-spirited person.
  • * Thackeray
    • a muff of a curate
  • A bird, the whitethroat.

    • Verb

    (en verb)
  • (sport) To drop or mishandle (the ball, a catch etc.); to play badly.
  • To mishandle; to bungle.
  • * 1977 , (Alistair Horne), A Savage War of Peace , New York Review Books 2006, p. 69:
    • Here was the superlative opportunity to make a generous and lasting settlement from a position of strength; but the pieds noirs , like the Israelis, and from not altogether dissimilar motives, were to muff it.

    Etymology 3

    Shortening.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (slang) A muffin.
    • ----