▪ I. tiffy, n. Naut. slang.
(ˈtɪfɪ)
[Contraction of artificer.]
An engine-room artificer.
| 1899 F. T. Bullen Way Navy 34 My life-long admiration for the blue-jacket proper will be shared by his brothers in arms, the stoker and engine-room artificer (‘tiffy’ as we call him). 1904 Kipling Traffics & Discov. 57 Those dirty engine⁓room objects which we call ‘tiffies’. |
▪ II. tiffy, a.
(ˈtɪfɪ)
[f. tiff n.3 + -y.]
Given to tiffs; in a tiff; pettish, ill-humoured; faddy.
| 1810 Splendid Follies II. 126 The old lady felt quite tiffy, and mumbled her roll in silence. 1883 Bread-Winners (1884) 27 She's too tiffy for poor folks like us. |