R.I.F., more stuff
David K. Barnhart
dbarnhart at HIGHLANDS.COM
Sun Mar 8 15:29:20 UTC 2009
RIF appears in MW3 as a n. MW2 does not have RIF.
As a verb it does not appear to have been recognized by dictionary editors.
MW11 (+ n.)
RHDU (+ n.)
RHWC (+ n.)
OED (+ n. on-line edition [eq = 1966])
NOAD (- n.)
WNW (+ n.)
AHD (- n.)
Encarta (-n.)
WBD (+ n.)
TBCDD [Thorndike Barnhart Comprehensive Desk, the first dictionary with
Sputnik) (- n.)
Dictionary of United States Military Terms For Joint Usage (w/Nato glossary
section) (1964) (- n.)
Dictionary of United States Army Terms (TM 20-205, 18 January 1944) (-n.)
United States Air Force Dictionary (Air University Press, 1956) (+ n.)
--all are minus the verb function.
Dickson, Paul. War Slang (New York: Pocket Books, 1994) has an entry for
riff, v., meaning "to let go before retirement" in the section for Vietnam
War (p 286).
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