English

Noun

spiff ‎(plural spiffs)

1. (uncountable) Attractiveness or charm in dress, appearance, or manner

   Without a diploma, he relies on spiff alone to climb the corporate ladder.

2. (countable, dated) A well-dressed man
3. (countable, sales jargon) A bonus or other remuneration, given for reaching a sales goal or promoting the goods of a particular manufacturer. Originally from textile retailing, a percentage given for selling off surplus or out-of-fashion stock, of which the sales person could offer part as a discount to a customer.
4. (countable, colloquial, Jamaica) a hand-rolled marijuana cigarette; a joint
   • 2000, Leone Ross, Tasting Songs, in Dark Matter (ed. Sheree R. Thomas), p76

     She rolled a spiff for us as she spoke, sifting the ganja between her fingers...

   • 2004, Sander L. Gilman, Xun Zhou, Smoke: A Global History of Smoking, p144

     ...someone else built a spiff which he lit and gave to me...

Verb

spiff ‎(third-person singular simple present spiffs, present participle spiffing, simple past and past participle spiffed)

1. (usually with up) to make spiffy (attractive, polished, or up-to-date)

   Our productivity would surely increase if we'd just spiff up this office a bit.

2. to reward (a salesperson) with a spiff.
3. to throw.

   I spiffed the turf over the edge and it went straight through the window and hit the officer.

Synonyms

• spruce (as in spruce up)

Derived terms

• spiff up
• spiffy

See also

• spliff