stiff

stiff
   1. a corpse
   Referring to the rigor mortis:
    When anyone was killed they piled the stiffs outside the door. (Scribner's Monthly, July 1880)
   In the 19th century also as a stiff one:
    Would she stick it till she was a stiff 'un. (Mayhew, 1862)
   2. drunk
   It tends to make you feel and look like a corpse:
    I was quite stiff by the time we got to the burial ground. (Styron, 1976 — he was drunk)
   3. having an erection of the penis Of obvious derivation:
    ... she approached me where I lay, stiff as a dagger. (Styron, 1976 — but not drunk on this occasion)
   In slang use, an erection of the penis is a stiffy.
   4. (out) to fail to meet your financial obligations (to someone)
   It is a form of death:
    'Suppose,' she asked, 'he was in trouble over drugs. Stiffed his supplier, somehow.' (R. N. Patterson, 1996)

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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  • stiff´ly — stiff «stihf», adjective, adverb, noun, verb. –adj. 1. not easily bent; fixed; rigid: »a stiff brush. He wore a stiff collar. 2. hard to move: »a stiff gear. The old hinges on the barn door are stiff. 3. not able to move easily: »a stiff neck.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Stiff — Stiff, a. [Compar. {Stiffer}; superl. {Stiffest}.] [OE. stif, AS. st[=i]f; akin to D. stijf, G. steif, Dan. stiv, Sw. styf, Icel. st[=i]fr, Lith. stipti to be stiff; cf. L. stipes a post, trunk of a tree, stipare to press, compress. Cf. {Costive} …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Stiff — may refer to:*Stiffness, a material s resistance to bending *Stiff differential equation, an equation that exhibits behaviour at two widely different scales (the differential equations describing stiff materials are stiff differential equations)… …   Wikipedia

  • stiff — [stɪf] verb [transitive] informal to not pay someone money that you owe them or that they expect to be given, for example by not leaving a tip in a restaurant see also working stiff * * * Ⅰ. stiff UK US /stɪf/ adjective ► …   Financial and business terms

  • stiff — [stif] adj. [ME stif < OE, akin to Ger steif < IE * stip , a pole, stick together (var. of base * steib(h) , rod) > L stipes, stem, stake, log, stipare, to crowd, cram] 1. hard to bend or stretch; rigid; firm; not flexible or pliant 2.… …   English World dictionary

  • Stiff — bezeichnet: Stiff Records, ein britisches Independent Label Stiff Little Fingers, eine Punkband aus Belfast Stiff man Syndrom, eine neurologische Krankheit Stiff Upper Lip, ein Albumtitel von AC/DC Stiff ist der Familienname folgender Person:… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • stiff — stiff; stiff·en; stiff·en·er; stiff·ish; stiff·ly; stiff·ness; …   English syllables

  • stiff — [adj1] hard, inflexible annealed, arthritic, benumbed, brittle, buckram, cemented, chilled, congealed, contracted, creaky, firm, fixed, frozen, graceless, hardened, immalleable, impliable, incompliant, indurate, inelastic, jelled, mechanical,… …   New thesaurus

  • stiff — ► ADJECTIVE 1) not easily bent; rigid. 2) not moving freely; difficult to turn or operate. 3) unable to move easily and without pain. 4) not relaxed or friendly; constrained. 5) severe or strong: stiff fines. 6) (stiff with) informal full of …   English terms dictionary

  • stiff´en|er — stiff|en «STIHF uhn», transitive verb. to make stiff or stiffer: »She stiffened the shirt with starch. –v.i. to become stiff or stiffer: »The jelly will stiffen as it cools. The wind was stiffening as the storm approached. Figurative. He… …   Useful english dictionary

  • stiff|en — «STIHF uhn», transitive verb. to make stiff or stiffer: »She stiffened the shirt with starch. –v.i. to become stiff or stiffer: »The jelly will stiffen as it cools. The wind was stiffening as the storm approached. Figurative. He stiffened with… …   Useful english dictionary

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