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Stiff vs Sniff - What's the difference?

stiff | sniff |

As nouns the difference between stiff and sniff

is that stiff is an average person, usually male, of no particular distinction, skill, or education, often a working stiff''''' or ''lucky '''stiff while sniff is an instance of sniffing.

As verbs the difference between stiff and sniff

is that stiff is to fail to pay that which one owes (implicitly or explicitly) to another, especially by departing hastily while sniff is (ambitransitive) to make a short, audible inhalation, through the nose, as if to smell something.

As an adjective stiff

is of an object, rigid, hard to bend, inflexible.

stiff

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Of an object, rigid, hard to bend, inflexible.
  • *
  • *:“A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron;. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff , retroussé moustache.
  • (lb) Of policies and rules and their application and enforcement, inflexible.
  • Of a person, formal in behavior, unrelaxed.
  • (lb) Harsh, severe.
  • :
  • Of muscles, or parts of the body, painful, as a result of excessive, or unaccustomed exercise.
  • :
  • Potent.
  • :
  • Dead, deceased.
  • Of a penis, erect.
  • Derived terms

    * stiffy

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An average person, usually male, of no particular distinction, skill, or education, often a working stiff''''' or ''lucky '''stiff .
  • A Working Stiff' s Manifesto: A Memoir of Thirty Jobs I Quit, Nine That Fired Me, and Three I Can't Remember was published in 2003.
  • A person who is deceived, as a mark or pigeon in a swindle.
  • She convinced the stiff to go to her hotel room, where her henchman was waiting to rob him.
  • (slang) A cadaver, a dead person.
  • (US) A person who leaves (especially a restaurant) without paying the bill.
  • Any hard hand where it is possible to exceed 21 by drawing an additional card.
  • See also

    * bindlestiff * See also ,

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To fail to pay that which one owes (implicitly or explicitly) to another, especially by departing hastily.
  • Realizing he had forgotten his wallet, he stiffed the taxi driver when the cab stopped for a red light.
  • * 1946 , William Foote Whyte, Industry and Society , page 129
  • We asked one girl to explain how she felt when she was "stiffed ." She said, You think of all the work you've done and how you've tried to please [them…].
  • * 1992 , Stephen Birmingham, Shades of Fortune , page 451
  • You see, poor Nonie really was stiffed' by Adolph in his will. He really ' stiffed her , Rose, and I really wanted to right that wrong.
  • * 2007 , Mary Higgins Clark, I Heard That Song Before , page 154
  • Then he stiffed the waiter with a cheap tip.

    Anagrams

    *

    sniff

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An instance of sniffing.
  • She gave the flowers a quick sniff to check they were real.
  • A quantity of something that is inhaled through the nose
  • A brief perception
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=November 3 , author=Chris Bevan , title=Rubin Kazan 1 - 0 Tottenham , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Tottenham did have a sniff of goal when Defoe's drilled cross just eluded his strike partner at the far post but their best effort came early in the second half when Ryan Fredericks cut in from the right before firing into the side netting.}}

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (ambitransitive) To make a short, audible inhalation, through the nose, as if to smell something.
  • The dog sniffed around the park, searching for a nice scent.
    I sniffed the meat to see if it hadn't gone off.
  • To say something while sniffing, for example in case of illness or unhappiness, or in contempt.
  • "He's never coming back, is he?" she sniffed while looking at a picture of him.
  • To perceive vaguely
  • I can sniff trouble coming from the basement.
  • To be dismissive or contemptuous of something.
  • (computing) To intercept and analyse packets of data being transmitted over a network.
  • (slang, UK) To inhale drugs in powder form (usually cocaine) through the nose.
  • Derived terms

    * sniff test