What does duffing mean?
Duffing is the present participle and gerund of the informal verb 'duff'. Its most familiar senses are two quite different things. In British slang, 'to duff someone up' means to hit or beat them physically, a usage common in casual speech and journalism about scuffles or bullying. In sporting contexts, particularly golf, 'to duff' a shot means to mishandle or botch it — striking the ground behind the ball or otherwise flubbing the stroke — so a golfer who is 'duffing his drives' is playing badly rather than fighting anyone. A third, now largely historical sense involved passing off inferior goods as genuine. The word belongs firmly to informal registers: it would be out of place in formal writing except when quoting speech or describing sport colloquially. Related forms include the noun 'duffer', meaning an incompetent or gullible person.
verb (gerund/present participle)The present participle and gerund of 'duff', chiefly meaning hitting or beating someone (especially in British slang 'duff someone up'), or botching a task or shot (especially in golf slang).
- To hit or beat someone, especially repeatedly (British slang: 'duff someone up').
- To botch or mishandle something, especially a golf stroke.
- To pass off something inferior as genuine ('duff up' goods — now rare).
"He spent the afternoon duffing his drives all over the practice range."
"The bullies were accused of duffing up a younger boy behind the school."
"He kept duffing his putts and finished the round three strokes over par."
In British slang, 'duffing someone up' means giving them a beating — but on the golf course, duffing just means mangling your own swing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of duffing
The verb 'duff' first appears in English in the late eighteenth century, originally in thieves' slang meaning to alter or dress up goods so as to sell them fraudulently. Its origin is uncertain, though it may derive from 'duff', an older dialect word for dough or a pudding, reflecting the idea of working or kneading something over. From this came the general senses of hitting or beating (perhaps from the notion of pounding) and of bungling a task, both well established by the nineteenth century.
Related word forms
How duffing is actually used
Informal register throughout. The sense 'beat someone up' is primarily British colloquial speech; the sense 'botch a shot' is common in sporting contexts, especially golf, in both British and American English.
Easily confused with duffing
'Dough' means flour-based paste or money; it sounds similar in some accents but has no relation to the verb 'duff'.