stiff
slang
1. noun A corpse. A: "Detective Roberts, we've just started gathering evidence from the crime scene." B: "Very good. Any ID on the stiff yet?"
2. noun A person. (Used in combinations.) A: "Did you hear? Sarah just won a million dollars!" B: "Wow, that lucky stiff!" I like this politician. He actually cares about issues that matter to working stiffs like me.
3. noun A drunkard. The only people you'll meet around here at this time of night are the stiffs staggering out of the bars.
4. noun A miserly or niggardly person, especially one who does not tip well or at all. I thought I'd get a nice fat tip from that big table, but the stiff who paid the bill only left me five bucks!
5. noun A person who is considered priggish or overly formal. A: "Ahem, excuse me! Please observe all rules and regulations while on the premises!" B: "Sheesh, who's the stiff?"
6. noun A tramp or migrant worker; a hobo. I found a spot beneath a bridge where some other stiffs were making their camp for the night.
7. verb To fail to tip (someone). The tightwad over at Table 8 stiffed me on the tip! I should have made at least $30 from that bill!
8. verb To cheat or swindle (someone) out of something. We used to think it was funny trying to stiff cab drivers when we were in college, but now I see how awful we were being. The woman I was subletting the apartment to stiffed me out of nearly three months' rent!
stiffed
slang Cheated (out of some amount of money). This is the third time this month that I've gotten stiffed on the bill. I was doing freelance work for someone and was stiffed for nearly $2,000.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
stiff
1. and stiffed mod. alcohol intoxicated; dead drunk. She knows how to stop drinking before she gets stiff.
2. n. a drunkard. Some stiff staggered by—belching clouds of some beery smell. The guy’s a stiff, and you want to run him for mayor? Even in this town that’s going too far.
3. mod. dead. (Originally underworld.) He’s stiff. There’s nothing that can be done.
4. n. a corpse. (Underworld.) They pulled another stiff out of the river last night. Looks like another mob killing.
5. n. a fellow worker; a fellow tramp. (Originally hobos.) This stiff wants some help finding a flop for the night.
6. tv. to fail to tip someone who expects it. Ya know, you can tell right away when a guy’s gonna stiff you—ya just know. I guess I get stiffed two, three times a day.
7. tv. to cheat someone. The clown selling hot dogs stiffed me for about forty cents.
stiffed
verbMcGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.