Basic Guidelines For English Spellings
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verb
[no object] informal British usually in imperative naff offGo away.
- ‘she told press photographers to naff off’
- ‘Finally after two weeks of snottyness, the cold appears to have admitted defeat and naffed off back into the ether.’
- ‘So I'll naff off, and look like I'm doing something at work for once.’
- ‘But I'm sure I'll bung some things on tomorrow before I naff off.’
- ‘They naff off and do their own thing for practically most of the story, only to turn up at the very end when it suits them.’
- ‘Let's face it, my killer clean cut looks are spoiled until these little horrors naff off.’
- ‘By that I mean that if you are favourable towards marriage and the two married people concerned are not married to each other, you can tell them to naff off.’
- ‘That is when you naff off to the loos for a snooze (toilet roll makes for handy pillow) or dash to the shopping centre.’
- ‘I know that a corporate did approach the Alliance many moons ago and request a wee policy change and was told to naff off.’
go away, depart, leave, take off, get out, get out of my sight
Origin
adjective
informal BritishLacking taste or style.
- ‘he always went for the most obvious melody he could get, no matter how naff it sounded’
- ‘This may sound naff, but I hold it to my heart and tell her I love her.’
- ‘Some of them sound okay, some sound naff, but they're mine and I stand by them.’
- ‘However, while this sounds like a naff publicity seeking idea, we really rather like it.’
- ‘That said, the title track, first up on the album, sounds like a naff car commercial.’
- ‘Ok, so stuffed eggs are a bit naff and seventies, but they still taste good!’
- ‘Here's an idea for them - I know it's naff but it would be fantastic.’
- ‘It's a place I feel a little funny about, because when I was in my teens and early 20s, there was no shop more naff on the high street.’
- ‘He died his short hair black and it looked good, not naff.’
- ‘It will instead become a source of genteel relaxation for the new middle classes, who find pub culture naff and club culture exhausting.’
- ‘Their monologues, pretentious, thick or plain naff, provide a sort of alternative history for the age of celebrity.’
- ‘I thought it would be naff, but wound up having a fabulous time.’
- ‘This is a really naff thing you are forced to do in school.’
- ‘Just reading the tracklisting convinces you it's going to be naff.’
- ‘The attractions are family-friendly without being naff, and the helpful park staff are marvellous.’
- ‘For a naff makeover lifestyle show, there was something about it which was really rather heartwarming.’
- ‘It's pretty naff, but as I missed it first time around I think it's my duty to sit through it twenty years on.’
- ‘And don't be too horrified at some of the naff singles I've ended up with over the years.’
- ‘Celebrity endorsements have always been naff and frequently backfire horribly.’
- ‘Of all his naff hairstyles, there was a general agreement this was the naffest.’
- ‘I've done some pretty naff things over the years, in the name of my work and it paid off.’
substandard, below standard, bad, inferior, poor, poor-quality, low-grade
Origin
1960s perhaps from Polari.
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