"spiffy" and "spiffing"

[Bill Palmer]

"Spiffy" is, inter alia, the brand name (or maybe former brand name, now) of
a type of wire stay, used to keep collar points of military shirts properly
turned down.

And, to me, born 1941, lived all over, reared in VA, a very common adjective
for looking neat, clean, well dressed.

I have never hear "spiff" without "up"...as in "You'd better spiff up your
room, if you want to go out tonite"


Bill Palmer

----- Original Message -----
From: "Judy Prince" <jbalizsprince at GOOGLEMAIL.COM>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Friday, January 29, 2010 3:46 PM
Subject: "spiffy" and "spiffing"


> ---------------------- Information from the mail
> header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Judy Prince <jbalizsprince at GOOGLEMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      "spiffy" and "spiffing"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Robin (a Scot living in England) has read in (usually) novels about
> English
> schools, the word "spiffing".
>
> I, a USAmerican, have never read or heard "spiffing", but have often
> read/heard/said "spiffy".
>
> Robin says that "spiffing" is definitely literary.  He has never heard it
> spoken, but has read it in novels for adolescent girls and boys, school
> stories.
>
> My experience with "spiffy" is that it was said by my parents, and is said
> by me and my contemporaries [born in the 1940s].
>
> Any examples, theories, histories from listmembers?
>
> Best,
>
> Judy
>
> --
> Frisky Moll Press:  http://judithprince.com/home.html
>
> "I can't read my library card."  ---Jeff Hecker, Norfolk, VA
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org


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