/spɪf/
OriginUnknown. See etymology discussion at spiffy.
- Yorkshire, archaic, dialectalNeat, smartly dressed, attractive.
““Hah spiff he is to dāay!—he mud be bown tul a wedding!”
“He’s spiff eniff for’t!””
“Thah is spiff i’ thy new coit.”
- uncountableAttractiveness or charm in dress, appearance, or manner.
“Without a diploma, he relies on spiff alone to climb the corporate ladder.”
- archaic, countable, slangA well-dressed man; a swell.
- countable, slangA bonus or other remuneration, given for reaching a sales goal or promoting the goods of a particular manufacturer. Originally from textile retailing, a percentage given for selling off surplus or out-of-fashion stock, of which the sales person could offer part as a discount to a customer.
“The strongly-recommended piece of cloth was, in the conventional language of the drapery trade, a “spiff” in other words, a remnant of an old stock which had been lying by unsold for three or four yea”
“The premium takes the form of a commission on goods sold. In some places it is a small premium, or in trade parlance a “spiff” on certain articles, and on others on the amount of sales.”
- informal, transitive(usually with up or out) To make spiffy (attractive, polished, or up-to-date)
“Oh, but we flatter ourselves that we are spiffed out; at all events, we've got our best dresses on.”
“This ensemble may be properly spiffed with a bolo tie, and topped off with a. . .”
“We dated boys who had their own cars and wow! what fancy cars they were—spiffed and buffed in bright '50s reds or turquoises.”
- slang, transitiveTo reward (a salesperson) with a spiff or bonus.
“It is my confirmed belief that, spiffed or not, the salesman is the consumer's best-qualified and best- informed source of assistance in matters of component selection.”
“The flight to Baton Rouge was ten dollars more. He said not to worry about it. I spiffed the guy twenty bucks and ended up in Baton Rouge a day earlier than I had expected.”
“The company made more money, and so did the salesperson who was spiffed on the sale and he was selling a product that most people don't buy.”
- slang, transitiveTo attach a spiff or bonus to the selling of (a product)
“It wasn't my fault if the blamed old store caught fire and gave me a chance to help Ferguson move out some of the stuff that has been 'spiffed' till it looks like red ink had been spilled all over the”
“Because you can pull out a spiff anywhere you are in the store and the customers are not aware that they are spiffed shoes.”
Formsmore spiff(comparative) · most spiff(superlative) · spiffs(plural) · spiffs(present, singular, third-person) · spiffing(participle, present) · spiffed(participle, past) · spiffed(past)