Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- Informal.
- a plodding, clumsy, incompetent person.
- a person inept or inexperienced at a specific sport, as golf.
- Northern and North Midland U.S. an old man, especially a dull or indecisive one.
- Slang.
- anything inferior, counterfeit, or useless.
- a peddler, especially one who sells cheap, flashy goods.
noun
- informal a dull or incompetent person
- slang something worthless
- dialect a peddler or hawker
- Australian slang
- a mine that proves unproductive
- a person who steals cattle
“inept person; old man,” especially “bad golfer,” 1842, perhaps from Scottish duffar “dull or stupid person,” from dowf “stupid,” literally “deaf,” from Old Norse daufr, with pejorative suffix -art. Or perhaps from 18c. thieves’ slang duff (v.) “to dress or manipulate an old thing and make it look new.”