What does stiffs mean?
Stiffs is the plural of stiff and is used informally, usually with a disparaging tone, for people regarded as overly formal, rigid, or dull. It suggests that a person’s manner is so constrained that they seem unwilling to relax, improvise, or engage naturally with others. The expression is conversational rather than formal and can be used of colleagues, guests, performers, or strangers whose behaviour appears stiff or socially awkward. Because it focuses on a perceived lack of warmth or flexibility, it is more insulting than simply calling someone reserved or eccentric. In ordinary usage, one might say that a group of colleagues were stiffs, or describe their conversation as stiff. The word is distinct from staff, which means employees collectively, and from the verb stifle, which means to suppress or suffocate.
noun (plural)The plural of stiff, used informally and often disparagingly for people perceived as overly formal, inflexible, or dull.
- Infinitely, often disparaging: people who are overly formal, inflexible, or lacking in spontaneity.
"The new colleagues were a group of stiffs who refused to join the conversation."
"He dismissed the suggestions from the stiffs on the committee."
"At first, the newcomers seemed like a group of stiffs, but they soon relaxed."
The plural is used informally and often disparagingly for people perceived as overly formal or inflexible.
"The staffroom was full of stiffs waiting for the meeting to begin."
The word stiff once described something physically rigid, but calling people stiffs sharpens the metaphor: rigidity of manner can make a person seem unyielding and lifeless.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does stiffs come from?
The word stiff comes from Old English stiff, meaning rigid or difficult to bend, and related to a Germanic root associated with rigidity and resistance to movement. The familiar adjective developed figurative uses for people who were rigid in manner or difficult to engage with. The plural stiffs follows the ordinary English plural pattern and is chiefly an informal extension of that older sense.
How stiffs is actually used
Informal and generally disparaging. It is most natural when describing people whose formality or inflexibility makes them seem unapproachable.
Easily confused with stiffs
A stiff is an inflexible or overly formal person, whereas staff refers to an organization’s employees or the people who work for it.
Stiffs are people considered inflexible, while stifles are plural of stifle, meaning to suppress something or prevent breathing.