shufti
/ˈʃʊfti
/noun (plural shuftis) British informal
A look or reconnoitre, especially a quick one: I’ll take a shufti round the wood while I’m about it...
- Even those uneducated in the merits of various leagues would require only a quick shufti at the Nationwide First Division table to know the Premiership is the place everyone wants to be.
- A quick shufti through his bank accounts should clear all this up.
- Hospital staff had a shufti and sent Stevens on his way with a quick ‘go home and keep an eye on it’.
Origin
1940s (originally military slang): from Arabic šāfa 'try to see'.