[Ads-l] Antedating of "Riff" (Noun and Verb)

[Shapiro, Fred]

riff, n. (OED 1933)

1932 _Minneapolis Tribune_ 13 Nov. 11/3 (ProQuest)

The word "scat" in Harlem has been replaced by "riff," so that a hot soloist is now a "riffer."


riff, v. (OED 1935)

1933 _Afro-American_ (Baltimore) 1 July 8 (ProQuest)

Good Old Harmony Holds Its Own as Riffing and Scat Singers Fade From Scene.


Fred Shapiro

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