riff-raffriffraffn.¹adj.

Brit.

/ˈrɪfraf/, U.S.

/ˈrɪfˌræf/

Forms: late Middle English–1500s ryffe raffe, 1500s rif raf, 1500s ryff raff, 1500s ryf raf, 1500s–1600s rifferaffe, 1500s–1600s riffe-raffe, 1500s–1600s riffe raffe, 1500s–1600s rifraff, 1500s–1600s rifraffe, 1500s–1600s rif-raffe, 1500s–1700s riffraffe, 1500s– riffraff, 1500s– riff raff, 1500s– rifraf, 1600s rife-rafe, 1600s riffe-raff, 1600s riffe ruffe, 1600s riff-raffe, 1600s 1800s rif-raff, 1600s– riff-raff, 1600s– rif-raf, 1800s riff-raf.

Origin: Either (i) a borrowing from French. Or (ii) formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymons: French rifraf ; riff and raff adv.

Etymology: Either < Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French rifraf, ryfraf altogether, every single one, one and all (14th cent.; of uncertain origin), or shortened < riff and raff adv. Perhaps compare Danish ripsraps collection of heterogeneous things, this and that, sweepings, rabble (early 18th cent)). For further etymology and parallels in Romance and Germanic languages, see riff and raff adv. Compare earlier raff n.³

derogatory.

A. n.¹

a. People of low social class or position; disreputable or undesirable people; members of the rabble considered collectively.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > [noun] > collectively

smalla1325

simplea1375

riff-raffc1475

lowly1547

little folk1580

little people1699

lowlife1820

society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > the lowest class > [noun] > persons of the lowest class (collectively)

chenaille1340

offal?a1425

putaylea1425

ribaldail1489

abject1526

offscouring1526

dreg1531

outsweeping1535

braggery1548

ribaldry1550

raff1557

sink1574

cattle1579

offscum1579

rabble1579

baggagery1589

scum1590

waste1592

menialty1593

baggage1603

froth1603

refuse1603

tag-rag1609

retriment1615

trasha1616

recrement1622

silts1636

garbage1648

riffle-raffle1668

raffle1670

riff-raff1678

scurf1688

mob1693

scouring1721

ribble-rabble1771

sweeping1799

clamjamphrie1816

ragabash1823

scruff1836

residuum1851

talent1882

c1475 Gregory's Chron. in J. Gairdner Hist. Coll. Citizen London (1876) 191 (MED) Many a man was mortheryde and kylde in that conflycte, I wot not what name hyt for the multytude of ryffe raffe.

1528 S. Gardiner in N. Pocock Rec. Reformation (1870) I. 89 Thirty persons, rif raf and other, standing in the chambers.

1599 Master Broughtons Lett. Answered vii. 21 To accompt all besides themselues..babish, vnlearned, rifraffe, nobodie.

1678 Spanish Hist. ii. 72 No body will be willing to trust himself with the riff raff that dwell there.

1794 J. Wolcot Ode in Wks. III. 402 The following Fables then will let them know What to us riffraff of the World they owe.

1811 L.-M. Hawkins Countess & Gertrude I. v. 76 A mere parcel of riff-raff! petty traders and shop-keepers.

1846 D. Jerrold Mrs. Caudle ii. 7 All sorts of thieves and vagabonds..and riff-raff of every kind.

1882 M. Arnold Irish Ess. 233 There were..a good many riff-raff in the upper gallery.

1910 R. Barr Sword Maker 16 The defenders you chose were riff-raff, picked up in the gutters of Frankfort.

1942 E. Ferber Saratoga Trunk (new ed.) v. 85 To impress shopkeepers and people whom she considered riffraff..she chattered a voluble and colloquial French.

1963 A. Bennett et al. Beyond Fringe ii. 46 I am not saying you get a load of riffraff down the mine,..I am just saying we had a load of riffraff down my mine.

2008 J. Updike Widows of Eastwick ii. 140 Who wants to go mill around on the wet sand with a load of beered-up riffraff?

b. With the. The dregs or lowest element of a community, class, etc.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > the lowest class > [noun] > the rabble

commona1350

rascala1382

rascaldry?1457

routc1475

tag and ragc1535

riff-raff1545

rabble1549

rascabilia1557

rabblement1565

bran1574

rascability1583

rascality1583

canaille1588

canalliary1600

canaglia1607

taga1616

ribble-rabble1635

volge1639

rabble rout1650

tag-rag and bob-tail1660

mobile1676

mobility1690

mob1691

rag-tag (also rag, tag) and bob-tail1725

kennel1726

rough scruff1814

rough scuff1816

tag-rag1826

rascalry1827

rascalment1832

doggery1843

polloi1856

raggle-taggle1958

1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus ii. f. 36 The common wealthe can be content to take..the rifraffe of the worlde, to make those instrumentes of.

1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 26 The riffe-raffe of the scribling rascality.

a1617 S. Hieron Bargaine of Salt in Wks. (1620) II. 474 Another bishop doth call them the trash and riffe-raffe of the people.

a1686 A. Martindale Life (1845) 157 Calling them..the scumme, rabble, rife-rafe (or such like) of the parish.

1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Riff-raff, the Rabble or Scum of the People, Tagrag and Long-tail.

1711 E. Ward Vulgus Britannicus (ed. 3) iii. 94 Each surly tatter'd Slave , Meant by the noisy Thumps they gave; To signify themselves to be, The Riff Raff of Authority.

1799 G. Washington Writings (1893) XIV. 154 None but the riff-raff of the Country, and the scape-gallowses of the large cities will be to be had.

1851 J. H. Newman Lect. Present Position Catholics Eng. 352 To show all the boys and riff-raff of the towns, what a Papist was like.

1881 F. G. Lee Reginald Barentyne vii We find..men of knowledge and refinement..in active alliance with all the Radicals and Riff-raff of the age.

1925 L. O'Flaherty Informer viii. 118 They were the riff-raff and the jetsam of the slums.

1970 M. Ballard et al. Europe Reaches around World V. viii. 48 The soldiers were the riff-raff of Europe, serving for money as or where they could find it.

2007 L. Picard Victorian London xvi. 206 Before 1846 the area had been the haunt of the riff-raff of London.

c. A collection of people conceived of as socially inferior or worthless.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > the lowest class > [noun] > the rabble > a rabble

ginga1275

frapaillec1330

rabblea1398

rascal1415

rafflea1450

mardlec1480

rabblement1543

riff-raff1570

rabble rout?1589

scum1597

skim1606

tumult1629

rebel rout1648

mob1688

drabble1789

attroopment1795

scuff1856

shower1936

1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) I. 693/2 Long it were to make rehearsall of all this rifraffe.

1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxviii. xii. 676 An armie..mingled of a confused riff raff and medley of all nations.

1700 S. Johnson 2nd Pt. Confut. 46 The English ought deservedly to blush, who lay down their neck to every one that sets his foot upon it..as if they were a sorry diminutive timoursom little people, and a riffraff of scoundrels.

1855 Chambers's Jrnl. 14 Oct. 248/2 Landsmen, boys, and a riffraff of ordinary seamen, may thereby be induced to offer themselves in greater number than are required.

1895 F. F. Montrésor Into Highways & Hedges iii. i. 294 The united strength of all this riffraff would, probably, have been more than a match for the preacher.

1932 W. James Big-Enough xv. 261 A riffraff of would-be riders and gun fighters was hired to take their place.

2007 R. Bedford et al. Early Mod. Eng. Lives iii. vi. 149 The colonels and majors of the parliamentarian army were nothing more than a riff-raff of tailors, butchers, dyers, tanners and sailors.

d. A person belonging to the rabble. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > the lowest class > [noun] > the rabble > one belonging to the rabble

ribalderc1400

rascalc1475

rascaller?1518

riff-raff1602

tag-rag1609

rascabilian1616

mob1703

rag-tag1802

1602 J. Davies Mirum in Modum sig. I2 When these Riffe-raffes in commotion rise, And all will haue their will.

1648 R. Kentish Sure Stay for Sinking State 20 If it were only among the Riffe-Raffs of the people.

1740 C. Cibber Apol. Life C. Cibber vii. 108 The Master's Party instituted a famous Club of Riff-Raffs, call'd the Ox-Cheek Club.

1837 J. F. Palmer Gloss. in M. Palmer Dialogue Devonshire Dial. Rip-orRiff-raff, a base and worthless fellow.

1897 J. Primmer J. Primmer in Rome (1903) 133 Dirty riffraffs kissed the foot and young ladies and nuns followed.

1918 D. Flatau Yellow Souls x. 70 I will not go to your bal masqué, an affair you give every now and then to entertain some riff-raffs what you find it convenient, but difficult to 'ave for your associates.

2001 Ledger Disp. (Calif.) (Nexis) 4 Jan. 1 He conveniently left out an entire gender, African and Native Americans, and most of the rest who were considered riffraffs.

a. Worthless things, rubbish; odds and ends.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > worthless > collectively

riff-raff1526

trumpery1531

triff-traff1547

trashery1557

dudgeon1593

lee1593

sweeping1641

lumber1649

worthless1758

trashtrie1786

tagraggery1837

flotsam1861

tat1951

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. Biiii And toke nat their ryffe raffe: but..their principall substaunce.

1579 S. Gosson Schoole of Abuse f. 32 It is not..Archimedes prickes, & lines, & circles, & triangles, & Rhombus, & riffe raffe, that hath any force to driue them backe.

a1675 B. Whitelocke Memorials Eng. Affairs (1682) anno 1632 17/1 They pelted him with rotten Eggs, Stones, and other riff raff.

1686 J. Goad Astro-meteorologica ii. i. 128 There is a great deal of Riff-Raff in these Ancients.

1706 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1885) I. 303 About 12,000 vols. of which some scarce, but y^e greatest part Riff-raff.

1791 W. Gifford To A. Pasquin in Baviad 29 Blot the name of Pasquin from thy page: Thou seest it will not thy poor riff-raff sell.

1833 R. Sharp Diary 5 Mar. (1997) 407 Newlove was selling his Furniture by Auction yesterday, I saw a crowd of the thoughtless standing against the Door; we neither wanted any old Riff Raff, nor had any Money to waste in it.

1863 W. W. Story Roba di Roma II. ii. 24 Dark dirty shops, in which all sorts of riffraff are sold.

1959 M. Gellhorn Face of War 194 All around these lacerated or flattened objects of steel there was the usual riffraff: papers, tin cans, cartridge belts, helmets, an odd shoe, clothing.

2009 Eureka (Calif.) Times Standard (Nexis) 20 Feb. Now a days one can easily tote their favorite records with them on a small pocket-sized contraption and make no bother with the other riff-raff that comes with the purchase of a CD.

†b. An inferior, spurious, or worthless thing. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > worthless

hawc1000

turdc1275

fille1297

dusta1300

lead1303

skitc1330

naught1340

vanityc1340

wrakea1350

rushc1350

dirt1357

fly's wing1377

goose-wing1377

fartc1390

chaff?a1400

nutshella1400

shalec1400

yardc1400

wrack1472

pelfrya1529

trasha1529

dreg1531

trish-trash1542

alchemy1547

beggary?1548

rubbish1548

pelfa1555

chip1556

stark naught1562

paltry?1566

rubbish1566

riff-raff1570

bran1574

baggage1579

nihil1579

trush-trash1582

stubblea1591

tartar1590

garbage1592

bag of winda1599

a cracked or slit groat1600

kitchen stuff1600

tilta1603

nothing?1608

bauble1609

countera1616

a pair of Yorkshire sleeves in a goldsmith's shop1620

buttermilk1630

dross1632

paltrement1641

cattle1643

bagatelle1647

nothingness1652

brimborion1653

stuff1670

flap-dragon1700

mud1706

caput mortuuma1711

snuff1778

twaddle1786

powder-post1790

traffic1828

junk1836

duffer1852

shice1859

punk1869

hogwash1870

cagmag1875

shit1890

tosh1892

tripe1895

dreck1905

schlock1906

cannon fodder1917

shite1928

skunk1929

crut1937

chickenshit1938

crud1943

Mickey Mouse1958

gick1959

garbo1978

turd1978

pants1994

1570 J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. (new ed.) To Rdr. sig. B^v This is none of Anselmes Dialogues: It is a rifferaffe: it is a forgerie.

1587 R. Hakluyt tr. R. de Laudonnière Notable Hist. Foure Voy. Florida f. 3 In necessitie they eate a thousand rifraffes, euen to the swallowing downe of coales.

1612 T. Bodley Let. in Huntington Lib. Q. Apr. (1939) 360 Sir, I would you had forborne to catalogue our London books... There are many idle books, and riff-raffs among them.

B. adj.

1. Of things: worthless, inferior. Now rare. Quot. 1577 may be an example of the noun.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > worthless

naughteOE

unworthc960

nought worthOE

unworthya1240

vaina1300

lewd1362

base?1510

to be nothing toc1520

stark naught1528

nothing worth1535

worthilessa1542

draffish1543

baggage1548

dunghill?1555

valureless1563

toyish1572

worthless1573

out (forth) of door (also doors)1574

leaden1577

riff-raff1577

drafty1582

fecklessc1586

dudgeon?1589

nought-worth1589

tenpenny1592

wanwordy?a1595

shotten herring1598

nugatory1603

unvalued1604

priceless1614

unvaluable1615

valuelessa1616

waste1616

trashya1620

draffy1624

stramineous1624

invaluable1640

roly-poly?1645

nugatorious1646

perquisquilian1647

niffling1649

lazy1671

wanworth1724

little wortha1754

flimsy1756

waff1788

null1790

nothingy1801

nothingly1802

twopenny-halfpenny1809

not worth a flaw1810

garbage1817

peanut1836

duffing1839

trash1843

no-account1845

no-count1851

punky1859

rummagy1872

junky1880

skilligalee1883

footle1894

punk1896

wherry-go-nimble1901

junk1908

rinky-dink1913

schlock1916

tripe1927

duff1938

chickenshit1940

sheg-up1941

expendable1942

(strictly) for the birds1943

tripey1955

schlocky1960

naff1964

dipshit1968

cack1978

1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. II. iii. ii. sig. Cc.iiij/2 In making preparation also no diligence was wantinge, choice was made of all thinges, for riffe raffe and refuse geere was not serued to these straungers, but the best and likelyeste of all that was found.

1583 Answeare Def. Censure Charkes Bk. f. 22 You bring in euery riff raff book, yea the beggerly constitutions of your popes, & make them equal with the scripturs.

?1608 T. Bodley in Reliq. Bodl. (1703) 82 In any wise take no riff raff Books (for such will but prove a Discredit to our Library).

1612 T. James Treat. Corruption Script. (new ed.) iv. 43 Seeing such riffe-raffe doctrine in it, [he] would not take it into his Worke.

1711 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1889) III. 243 The large 4^to ed. of Sallust full of riff-raff Notes.

1827 W. Scott Jrnl. 30 Apr. (1941) 47 Nothing to-day but a pack of riff-raff cases of petty larceny and trash.

1861 G. M. Musgrave By-roads in Picardy 54 The fair..was a riff-raff conglomeration of..folly, trash, trumpery, and charlatanism.

1920 Agric. Appropriation Bill 1921: Hearings before Comm. on Agric. (U.S. 66th Cong. 2nd Sess.: House: with Representatives No. 596) 1234 I discovered that they were having shipped to Norfolk, Va. (and that is not a cotton section of the country), a lot of this riff-raff stuff that was not spinnable.

2. Of persons: low, disreputable; belonging to the rabble. Also of words, songs, etc.: characteristic of members of the rabble.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > the lowest class > [adjective] > belonging to the rabble

rascala1450

rascally1592

ribble-rabble1598

riff-raff1598

tag-raga1616

rabblea1633

rag-tag1860

raggle-taggle1891

1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Berlengo, a tipling or drinking house where all manner of riffraff companie comes.

1600 tr. T. Garzoni Hosp. Incurable Fooles 157 This woman by her monckeries, singing of riffe raffe rimes and countrey gigs, recounting a thousand merrie tales..she hath brought in amongst them an other Lubberlande, to passe ouer all melancholike and displeasing humours.

1612 Mr. King tr. Benvenuto Passenger i. i. 71 But what is able to rule riffe-raffe people?

1640 ‘Ben-Arod Gad’ Wandering-Jew 59 These are Riff-raffe Theeves, the Scum of a State.

1729 A. Pope Dunciad Variorum p. xxiv Here..should we crave Pardon..for having mentioned them in the same Page with such Weekly riff-raff Railers and Rhymers.

1784 R. Bage Barham Downs I. 157 Give 'em thirty thousand pounds a piece, to throw away upon some Riff Raff beggarly fellow.

1832 Monthly Rev. Apr. 597 Finally come the raking, good-looking, shore-going, company-hunting, gallivanting, riff-raff set of reckless youths.

1883 T. C. Haddon in W. R. W. Stephens Life & Lett. E. A. Freeman (1895) I. 8 A mob of riffraff snobs had attacked our party.

1921 Edinb. Rev. Oct. 336 The army of that day was not composed of the whole nation, as in our late struggle, but only of aristocratic officers and riff-raff rank and file.

1956 Speculum 31 352 Does one turn Villon's riffraff language into its approximate equivalent of the translator's own time and place?

2005 T. Long Cash Rules viii. 68 My face got tight as I wondered why the hell Scar had to bring his riff raff homeboys with him everywhere he went.

Phrases

† by riffraff: by hook or by crook; by one device or another. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes By rifraffe, by hooke or crooke, by pinching or scraping.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	riff-raff
释义	riff-raffriffraffn.¹adj. Brit. /ˈrɪfraf/, U.S. /ˈrɪfˌræf/ Forms: late Middle English–1500s ryffe raffe, 1500s rif raf, 1500s ryff raff, 1500s ryf raf, 1500s–1600s rifferaffe, 1500s–1600s riffe-raffe, 1500s–1600s riffe raffe, 1500s–1600s rifraff, 1500s–1600s rifraffe, 1500s–1600s rif-raffe, 1500s–1700s riffraffe, 1500s– riffraff, 1500s– riff raff, 1500s– rifraf, 1600s rife-rafe, 1600s riffe-raff, 1600s riffe ruffe, 1600s riff-raffe, 1600s 1800s rif-raff, 1600s– riff-raff, 1600s– rif-raf, 1800s riff-raf. Origin: Either (i) a borrowing from French. Or (ii) formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymons: French rifraf ; riff and raff adv. Etymology: Either < Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French rifraf, ryfraf altogether, every single one, one and all (14th cent.; of uncertain origin), or shortened < riff and raff adv. Perhaps compare Danish ripsraps collection of heterogeneous things, this and that, sweepings, rabble (early 18th cent)). For further etymology and parallels in Romance and Germanic languages, see riff and raff adv. Compare earlier raff n.³ derogatory. A. n.¹ 1. a. People of low social class or position; disreputable or undesirable people; members of the rabble considered collectively. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > [noun] > collectively smalla1325 simplea1375 riff-raffc1475 lowly1547 little folk1580 little people1699 lowlife1820 society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > the lowest class > [noun] > persons of the lowest class (collectively) chenaille1340 offal?a1425 putaylea1425 ribaldail1489 abject1526 offscouring1526 dreg1531 outsweeping1535 braggery1548 ribaldry1550 raff1557 sink1574 cattle1579 offscum1579 rabble1579 baggagery1589 scum1590 waste1592 menialty1593 baggage1603 froth1603 refuse1603 tag-rag1609 retriment1615 trasha1616 recrement1622 silts1636 garbage1648 riffle-raffle1668 raffle1670 riff-raff1678 scurf1688 mob1693 scouring1721 ribble-rabble1771 sweeping1799 clamjamphrie1816 ragabash1823 scruff1836 residuum1851 talent1882 c1475 Gregory's Chron. in J. Gairdner Hist. Coll. Citizen London (1876) 191 (MED) Many a man was mortheryde and kylde in that conflycte, I wot not what name hyt for the multytude of ryffe raffe. 1528 S. Gardiner in N. Pocock Rec. Reformation (1870) I. 89 Thirty persons, rif raf and other, standing in the chambers. 1599 Master Broughtons Lett. Answered vii. 21 To accompt all besides themselues..babish, vnlearned, rifraffe, nobodie. 1678 Spanish Hist. ii. 72 No body will be willing to trust himself with the riff raff that dwell there. 1794 J. Wolcot Ode in Wks. III. 402 The following Fables then will let them know What to us riffraff of the World they owe. 1811 L.-M. Hawkins Countess & Gertrude I. v. 76 A mere parcel of riff-raff! petty traders and shop-keepers. 1846 D. Jerrold Mrs. Caudle ii. 7 All sorts of thieves and vagabonds..and riff-raff of every kind. 1882 M. Arnold Irish Ess. 233 There were..a good many riff-raff in the upper gallery. 1910 R. Barr Sword Maker 16 The defenders you chose were riff-raff, picked up in the gutters of Frankfort. 1942 E. Ferber Saratoga Trunk (new ed.) v. 85 To impress shopkeepers and people whom she considered riffraff..she chattered a voluble and colloquial French. 1963 A. Bennett et al. Beyond Fringe ii. 46 I am not saying you get a load of riffraff down the mine,..I am just saying we had a load of riffraff down my mine. 2008 J. Updike Widows of Eastwick ii. 140 Who wants to go mill around on the wet sand with a load of beered-up riffraff? b. With the. The dregs or lowest element of a community, class, etc. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > the lowest class > [noun] > the rabble commona1350 rascala1382 rascaldry?1457 routc1475 tag and ragc1535 riff-raff1545 rabble1549 rascabilia1557 rabblement1565 bran1574 rascability1583 rascality1583 canaille1588 canalliary1600 canaglia1607 taga1616 ribble-rabble1635 volge1639 rabble rout1650 tag-rag and bob-tail1660 mobile1676 mobility1690 mob1691 rag-tag (also rag, tag) and bob-tail1725 kennel1726 rough scruff1814 rough scuff1816 tag-rag1826 rascalry1827 rascalment1832 doggery1843 polloi1856 raggle-taggle1958 1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus ii. f. 36 The common wealthe can be content to take..the rifraffe of the worlde, to make those instrumentes of. 1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 26 The riffe-raffe of the scribling rascality. a1617 S. Hieron Bargaine of Salt in Wks. (1620) II. 474 Another bishop doth call them the trash and riffe-raffe of the people. a1686 A. Martindale Life (1845) 157 Calling them..the scumme, rabble, rife-rafe (or such like) of the parish. 1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Riff-raff, the Rabble or Scum of the People, Tagrag and Long-tail. 1711 E. Ward Vulgus Britannicus (ed. 3) iii. 94 Each surly tatter'd Slave , Meant by the noisy Thumps they gave; To signify themselves to be, The Riff Raff of Authority. 1799 G. Washington Writings (1893) XIV. 154 None but the riff-raff of the Country, and the scape-gallowses of the large cities will be to be had. 1851 J. H. Newman Lect. Present Position Catholics Eng. 352 To show all the boys and riff-raff of the towns, what a Papist was like. 1881 F. G. Lee Reginald Barentyne vii We find..men of knowledge and refinement..in active alliance with all the Radicals and Riff-raff of the age. 1925 L. O'Flaherty Informer viii. 118 They were the riff-raff and the jetsam of the slums. 1970 M. Ballard et al. Europe Reaches around World V. viii. 48 The soldiers were the riff-raff of Europe, serving for money as or where they could find it. 2007 L. Picard Victorian London xvi. 206 Before 1846 the area had been the haunt of the riff-raff of London. c. A collection of people conceived of as socially inferior or worthless. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > the lowest class > [noun] > the rabble > a rabble ginga1275 frapaillec1330 rabblea1398 rascal1415 rafflea1450 mardlec1480 rabblement1543 riff-raff1570 rabble rout?1589 scum1597 skim1606 tumult1629 rebel rout1648 mob1688 drabble1789 attroopment1795 scuff1856 shower1936 1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) I. 693/2 Long it were to make rehearsall of all this rifraffe. 1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxviii. xii. 676 An armie..mingled of a confused riff raff and medley of all nations. 1700 S. Johnson 2nd Pt. Confut. 46 The English ought deservedly to blush, who lay down their neck to every one that sets his foot upon it..as if they were a sorry diminutive timoursom little people, and a riffraff of scoundrels. 1855 Chambers's Jrnl. 14 Oct. 248/2 Landsmen, boys, and a riffraff of ordinary seamen, may thereby be induced to offer themselves in greater number than are required. 1895 F. F. Montrésor Into Highways & Hedges iii. i. 294 The united strength of all this riffraff would, probably, have been more than a match for the preacher. 1932 W. James Big-Enough xv. 261 A riffraff of would-be riders and gun fighters was hired to take their place. 2007 R. Bedford et al. Early Mod. Eng. Lives iii. vi. 149 The colonels and majors of the parliamentarian army were nothing more than a riff-raff of tailors, butchers, dyers, tanners and sailors. d. A person belonging to the rabble. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > the lowest class > [noun] > the rabble > one belonging to the rabble ribalderc1400 rascalc1475 rascaller?1518 riff-raff1602 tag-rag1609 rascabilian1616 mob1703 rag-tag1802 1602 J. Davies Mirum in Modum sig. I2 When these Riffe-raffes in commotion rise, And all will haue their will. 1648 R. Kentish Sure Stay for Sinking State 20 If it were only among the Riffe-Raffs of the people. 1740 C. Cibber Apol. Life C. Cibber vii. 108 The Master's Party instituted a famous Club of Riff-Raffs, call'd the Ox-Cheek Club. 1837 J. F. Palmer Gloss. in M. Palmer Dialogue Devonshire Dial. Rip-orRiff-raff, a base and worthless fellow. 1897 J. Primmer J. Primmer in Rome (1903) 133 Dirty riffraffs kissed the foot and young ladies and nuns followed. 1918 D. Flatau Yellow Souls x. 70 I will not go to your bal masqué, an affair you give every now and then to entertain some riff-raffs what you find it convenient, but difficult to 'ave for your associates. 2001 Ledger Disp. (Calif.) (Nexis) 4 Jan. 1 He conveniently left out an entire gender, African and Native Americans, and most of the rest who were considered riffraffs. 2. a. Worthless things, rubbish; odds and ends. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > worthless > collectively riff-raff1526 trumpery1531 triff-traff1547 trashery1557 dudgeon1593 lee1593 sweeping1641 lumber1649 worthless1758 trashtrie1786 tagraggery1837 flotsam1861 tat1951 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. Biiii And toke nat their ryffe raffe: but..their principall substaunce. 1579 S. Gosson Schoole of Abuse f. 32 It is not..Archimedes prickes, & lines, & circles, & triangles, & Rhombus, & riffe raffe, that hath any force to driue them backe. a1675 B. Whitelocke Memorials Eng. Affairs (1682) anno 1632 17/1 They pelted him with rotten Eggs, Stones, and other riff raff. 1686 J. Goad Astro-meteorologica ii. i. 128 There is a great deal of Riff-Raff in these Ancients. 1706 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1885) I. 303 About 12,000 vols. of which some scarce, but y^e greatest part Riff-raff. 1791 W. Gifford To A. Pasquin in Baviad 29 Blot the name of Pasquin from thy page: Thou seest it will not thy poor riff-raff sell. 1833 R. Sharp Diary 5 Mar. (1997) 407 Newlove was selling his Furniture by Auction yesterday, I saw a crowd of the thoughtless standing against the Door; we neither wanted any old Riff Raff, nor had any Money to waste in it. 1863 W. W. Story Roba di Roma II. ii. 24 Dark dirty shops, in which all sorts of riffraff are sold. 1959 M. Gellhorn Face of War 194 All around these lacerated or flattened objects of steel there was the usual riffraff: papers, tin cans, cartridge belts, helmets, an odd shoe, clothing. 2009 Eureka (Calif.) Times Standard (Nexis) 20 Feb. Now a days one can easily tote their favorite records with them on a small pocket-sized contraption and make no bother with the other riff-raff that comes with the purchase of a CD. †b. An inferior, spurious, or worthless thing. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > worthless hawc1000 turdc1275 fille1297 dusta1300 lead1303 skitc1330 naught1340 vanityc1340 wrakea1350 rushc1350 dirt1357 fly's wing1377 goose-wing1377 fartc1390 chaff?a1400 nutshella1400 shalec1400 yardc1400 wrack1472 pelfrya1529 trasha1529 dreg1531 trish-trash1542 alchemy1547 beggary?1548 rubbish1548 pelfa1555 chip1556 stark naught1562 paltry?1566 rubbish1566 riff-raff1570 bran1574 baggage1579 nihil1579 trush-trash1582 stubblea1591 tartar1590 garbage1592 bag of winda1599 a cracked or slit groat1600 kitchen stuff1600 tilta1603 nothing?1608 bauble1609 countera1616 a pair of Yorkshire sleeves in a goldsmith's shop1620 buttermilk1630 dross1632 paltrement1641 cattle1643 bagatelle1647 nothingness1652 brimborion1653 stuff1670 flap-dragon1700 mud1706 caput mortuuma1711 snuff1778 twaddle1786 powder-post1790 traffic1828 junk1836 duffer1852 shice1859 punk1869 hogwash1870 cagmag1875 shit1890 tosh1892 tripe1895 dreck1905 schlock1906 cannon fodder1917 shite1928 skunk1929 crut1937 chickenshit1938 crud1943 Mickey Mouse1958 gick1959 garbo1978 turd1978 pants1994 1570 J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. (new ed.) To Rdr. sig. B^v This is none of Anselmes Dialogues: It is a rifferaffe: it is a forgerie. 1587 R. Hakluyt tr. R. de Laudonnière Notable Hist. Foure Voy. Florida f. 3 In necessitie they eate a thousand rifraffes, euen to the swallowing downe of coales. 1612 T. Bodley Let. in Huntington Lib. Q. Apr. (1939) 360 Sir, I would you had forborne to catalogue our London books... There are many idle books, and riff-raffs among them. B. adj. 1. Of things: worthless, inferior. Now rare. Quot. 1577 may be an example of the noun. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > worthless naughteOE unworthc960 nought worthOE unworthya1240 vaina1300 lewd1362 base?1510 to be nothing toc1520 stark naught1528 nothing worth1535 worthilessa1542 draffish1543 baggage1548 dunghill?1555 valureless1563 toyish1572 worthless1573 out (forth) of door (also doors)1574 leaden1577 riff-raff1577 drafty1582 fecklessc1586 dudgeon?1589 nought-worth1589 tenpenny1592 wanwordy?a1595 shotten herring1598 nugatory1603 unvalued1604 priceless1614 unvaluable1615 valuelessa1616 waste1616 trashya1620 draffy1624 stramineous1624 invaluable1640 roly-poly?1645 nugatorious1646 perquisquilian1647 niffling1649 lazy1671 wanworth1724 little wortha1754 flimsy1756 waff1788 null1790 nothingy1801 nothingly1802 twopenny-halfpenny1809 not worth a flaw1810 garbage1817 peanut1836 duffing1839 trash1843 no-account1845 no-count1851 punky1859 rummagy1872 junky1880 skilligalee1883 footle1894 punk1896 wherry-go-nimble1901 junk1908 rinky-dink1913 schlock1916 tripe1927 duff1938 chickenshit1940 sheg-up1941 expendable1942 (strictly) for the birds1943 tripey1955 schlocky1960 naff1964 dipshit1968 cack1978 1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. II. iii. ii. sig. Cc.iiij/2 In making preparation also no diligence was wantinge, choice was made of all thinges, for riffe raffe and refuse geere was not serued to these straungers, but the best and likelyeste of all that was found. 1583 Answeare Def. Censure Charkes Bk. f. 22 You bring in euery riff raff book, yea the beggerly constitutions of your popes, & make them equal with the scripturs. ?1608 T. Bodley in Reliq. Bodl. (1703) 82 In any wise take no riff raff Books (for such will but prove a Discredit to our Library). 1612 T. James Treat. Corruption Script. (new ed.) iv. 43 Seeing such riffe-raffe doctrine in it, [he] would not take it into his Worke. 1711 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1889) III. 243 The large 4^to ed. of Sallust full of riff-raff Notes. 1827 W. Scott Jrnl. 30 Apr. (1941) 47 Nothing to-day but a pack of riff-raff cases of petty larceny and trash. 1861 G. M. Musgrave By-roads in Picardy 54 The fair..was a riff-raff conglomeration of..folly, trash, trumpery, and charlatanism. 1920 Agric. Appropriation Bill 1921: Hearings before Comm. on Agric. (U.S. 66th Cong. 2nd Sess.: House: with Representatives No. 596) 1234 I discovered that they were having shipped to Norfolk, Va. (and that is not a cotton section of the country), a lot of this riff-raff stuff that was not spinnable. 2. Of persons: low, disreputable; belonging to the rabble. Also of words, songs, etc.: characteristic of members of the rabble. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > the lowest class > [adjective] > belonging to the rabble rascala1450 rascally1592 ribble-rabble1598 riff-raff1598 tag-raga1616 rabblea1633 rag-tag1860 raggle-taggle1891 1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Berlengo, a tipling or drinking house where all manner of riffraff companie comes. 1600 tr. T. Garzoni Hosp. Incurable Fooles 157 This woman by her monckeries, singing of riffe raffe rimes and countrey gigs, recounting a thousand merrie tales..she hath brought in amongst them an other Lubberlande, to passe ouer all melancholike and displeasing humours. 1612 Mr. King tr. Benvenuto Passenger i. i. 71 But what is able to rule riffe-raffe people? 1640 ‘Ben-Arod Gad’ Wandering-Jew 59 These are Riff-raffe Theeves, the Scum of a State. 1729 A. Pope Dunciad Variorum p. xxiv Here..should we crave Pardon..for having mentioned them in the same Page with such Weekly riff-raff Railers and Rhymers. 1784 R. Bage Barham Downs I. 157 Give 'em thirty thousand pounds a piece, to throw away upon some Riff Raff beggarly fellow. 1832 Monthly Rev. Apr. 597 Finally come the raking, good-looking, shore-going, company-hunting, gallivanting, riff-raff set of reckless youths. 1883 T. C. Haddon in W. R. W. Stephens Life & Lett. E. A. Freeman (1895) I. 8 A mob of riffraff snobs had attacked our party. 1921 Edinb. Rev. Oct. 336 The army of that day was not composed of the whole nation, as in our late struggle, but only of aristocratic officers and riff-raff rank and file. 1956 Speculum 31 352 Does one turn Villon's riffraff language into its approximate equivalent of the translator's own time and place? 2005 T. Long Cash Rules viii. 68 My face got tight as I wondered why the hell Scar had to bring his riff raff homeboys with him everywhere he went. Phrases † by riffraff: by hook or by crook; by one device or another. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes By rifraffe, by hooke or crooke, by pinching or scraping. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † riff-raffn.² Forms: 1500s rif raf, 1500s–1600s riffe raffe, 1600s riffraff. Origin: Probably an imitative or expressive formation. Etymology: Probably a reduplicative formation (with variation of the vowel) of imitative origin (compare raff n.¹), perhaps partly suggested by riff-raff n.¹ For similar formations first attested in Stanyhurst compare e.g. ruff-raff adj., rack jack n., crack-rack adj., etc. Obsolete. 1. A tumult, a racket; the sound of this. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > commotion, disturbance, or disorder > [noun] > (a) noisy rippit?1507 hubbleshowa1525 burlinga1533 hubble-shubblec1550 burle1563 coil1567 hirdy-girdy1568 riff-raff1582 rut1607 hubbuba1625 clutter1656 sputter1673 splutter1677 rattle1688 rumpus1745 ree-raw1797 bobbery1816 trevally1819 stramash1821 nitty1822 hell's delight1823 pandemonium1827 oration1828 Bob's-a-dying1829 hubbaboo1830 reerie1832 circus1869 tow-row1877 ruaille buaille1885 brouhaha1890 foofaraw1933 bangarang1943 bassa-bassa1956 1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 4 Theese vnrulye reuels, and rif rafs wholye disordred,..thee sea king Neptun awaked. 1597 Bp. J. Hall Virgidemiarum: 1st 3 Bks. i. vi. 14 If Joue speake English in a thundring cloud, Thwick thwack, and rif raf, rores he out aloud. 1600 T. Nashe Summers Last Will sig. D3 The Poet is bribde..to hold him halfe the night with riffe, raffe, of the rumming of Elanor. 1618 D. Belchier Hans Beer-pot sig. C2 With riffe raffe, roaring, thwick, thwack, Thurlerie bouncing. 2. A simple, unadorned piece of verse. rare. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poem or piece of poetry > bad poem or doggerel poem > [noun] raffc1330 rat-rhyme1553 riff-raff1617 doggerel1653 1617 B. Rich Irish Hubbub 3 [Stanyhurst] tooke vpon him to translate Virgill, and stript him..out of a Latin Heroicall verse, into an English riffe raffe. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < n.¹adj.c1475n.²1582
随便看	johnny-on-the-spot johnny-one-note johnnycake johnnycake board johnnycakes johnnycockhorse johnnycomelately johnnyhouse johnnyjumpup johnnyonenote johnnyonthespot johnofalltrades johnoutofoffice johns johnsmas johnsmas foy johnson johnson bar johnson grass johnson noise johnsonese johnsonian johnsoniana johnsonianism johnsonianly

riff-raffriffraffn.1adj.

Phrases

† riff-raffn.2

riff-raffriffraffn.¹adj.

† riff-raffn.²