▪ I. scuff, n.1
(skʌf)
Also skuff.
[? f. scuff v.]
1. Sc. A slight glancing blow; a ‘brush’ with the hand. to get upon the skuff, to get to scuffling.
| 1824 Mactaggart Gallovid. Encycl. s.v., The scuff is the wind, as it were; the scuff of a cannon ball, blows a man to pieces. 1825 Jamieson, Suppl., Scuff. 1. The act of grazing, or touching lightly. 2. A stroke, apparently a slight one, Banffs. 1839 Moir Mansie Wauch xxiii. 292 After giving his breeches-knees a skuff with his loof, to dad off the stoure. 1854 H. Miller Sch. & Schm. (1858) 337 We got upon the skuff after you left us. 1899 J. Strang Lass of Lennox xv, ‘She was a dacent woman Lucky’... ‘She was a' that’, says he, gie'in' his een a bit scuff wi' the back o' his haun'. |
b. transf. A gust or puff of wind or rain.
| 1895 Crockett Men of Moss-Hags xlviii, It was a dark, gloomy day, with..scuffs of grey showers scudding among the hilltops. |
2. a. The noise made by the ‘scuffing’ of feet: see scuff v. 2 b.
| 1899 B. M. Dix Hugh Gwyeth xvi, They rode a long space in silence, save for the soft scuff of the horses now and again as they came upon a stretch of sandy road. |
b. A mark made by scraping or rubbing.
| 1954 J. Steinbeck Sweet Thursday v. 35 Brown calf shoes.., scuff on the right toe. 1976 B. Lecomber Dead Weight i. 11 A thousand scuffs and scratches in the shabby wood and leather. |
3. A rowdy crowd, rabble; also, one of such a crowd. Cf. scurf n.1 4.
| 1856 J. Ballantine Poems 67 On Queen's birth-days, thy squibs and pluffs Slappit in face o' drucken scuffs. 1879 Macm. Mag. XL. 501/1 This got a scuff (crowd) round us. |
4. A type of slipper or sandal without a back. Chiefly U.S.
| 1909 in Cent. Dict. Suppl. 1938 Sears, Roebuck Catal. Fall/Winter 324/3 Adorable Slip-on ‘Scuffs’. No trouble at all to slip in or out of these cunning, snug ‘scuffs’. 1945 Creative Footwear Apr. 106/2 (Advt.), Shearling scuff, leather sole. 1953 S. Ransome Drag Dark xiv. 140 In the snow in her stocking feet, her red scuffs lost behind her. 1968 J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 135 Mule, loose slipper with front vamp only, no back. Also called a ‘scuff’. 1974 Spartanburg (S. Carolina) Herald 18 Apr. (Kmart Advt. Suppl.) 1 Soft-stepping flowered cotton terry cloth scuffs, molded rubber sole. |
▪ II. scuff, n.2
(skʌf)
Forms: α. dial. 8–9 skuft, 9 skufft, scuft. β. 9 scuf, scuff.
[Of obscure origin: cf. the variant forms scruff n.2, cuff n.4
It is usually assumed that the form scuft is the original, and that the word is ad. ON. skopt (poet.) hair = Goth. skuft. But there is little affinity of sense with the ON. word. The NFris. skuft, ‘back of the neck of a horse’, sometimes cited as cognate, seems to be = Du. schoft shoulder.]
The nape of the neck (only in references to seizing by the ‘scuff (of the neck)’.
| α 1787 Grose Provinc. Gloss., Skuft (of the neck), the cuff or back of the neck. 1818 Wilbraham Chesh. Gloss., Skufft, the back part of the neck. 1878 Hartley Clock Alm. 31 (E.D.D.) He seized Dawdles by th' scuft o' th' neck. |
| β 1823 in Spirit Publ. Jrnls. 129 The champion caught the scampering coppersmith by the ‘scuff of the neck’. a 1846 Landor Imag. Conv. Wks. 1853 II. 91/1 Take them by the scuf, and out with 'em. 1864 M. Eyre Lady's Walk S. France xiii. (1865) 159, I caught him [a dog] by the scuff of his neck. |
▪ III. scuff, v.
(skʌf)
Also 6 scuffe, 7, 9 skuff.
[Of uncertain and possibly mixed origin; perh. connected with scruff, scurf vbs.; possibly in part of onomatopœic origin (cf. quot. 1825 in scuff n.1 2, and the Sc. dial. phrase ‘to go scuff’, to fly past with a whizzing noise). With sense 4 cf. cuff v.; with sense 3 b cf. scuffle, shuffle vbs.]
† 1. trans. ? To evade, shirk (duty). Cf. scruff v. Sc. Obs.
| 1595 Duncan App. Etym. (E.D.S.), Eludo, to scuffe, to shift off. |
2. a. To touch lightly in passing; to strike with a slight glancing blow; to brush against (an object); to wipe off (something) with such a blow or stroke.
| 1824 Mactaggart Gallovid. Encycl., Scuff, to touch, to graze. 1826 G. Beattie John o' Arnha (ed. 5) 63 [The bird] Now soar'd aloft, now scuff'd the ground. 1832–53 A. Crawford in Whistle-binkie iii. 84 The sun clam up..And frae his e'ebrows scuff'd the mornin' dew. 1867 Gregor Banffsh. Gloss., Scuff, to wipe very lightly; as, ‘Scuff the stew aff o' yir sheen’. |
b. To scrape (the ground, boards, etc.) with the feet; to wear off by treading.
| 1897 W. Beatty Secretar xlviii, To whilk speech, after I had skuffed the boards with my feet,..I made answer. 1905 Treves Other Side of Lantern ii. xvii. 115 A common of worn earth from which a million feet have scuffed whatever living thing has grown upon it. |
3. a. intr. To walk (through dew, dust, snow, etc.) so as to brush it aside or throw it up; hence trans., to throw up (dust by this manner of walking).
| 1768 Ross Helenore, Rock & wee pickle Tow xvii, With a pair of rough rullions to scuff thro' the dew. 1893 Wiltsh. Gloss. s.v., To ‘scuff up’ the dust..by dragging a foot along the road. 1900 Academy 28 Apr. 363/1 How pleasant it is to scuff along amidst the clattering leaves! |
b. To shuffle with the feet.
| 1847 Halliwell, Scuff, to shuffle in walking. West. 1890 Glouc. Gloss. 1896 Warwicksh. Gloss. 1902 Blackw. Mag. Jan. 41/1, I vainly tried to scuff over the boards with my leather-soled shoes in the same noisy fashion as the men whose hobnailed boots scraped and banged against the wood. |
4. trans. To buffet (a person).
| 1841 Blackw. Mag. L. 482/1 By these [persons]..this man of medicine is huffed and scuffed about. 1845 Round Preacher ii. 40 The gentleman..scuffed and kicked him. 1875 J. Ballantine Gaberlunzie's Wallet (ed. 3) Gloss. (E.D.D.), Scuffs his ear. |
5. intr. for pass. a. To become marked, worn, or damaged by rubbing or scraping.
| 1934 Webster, s.v., Soft bindings scuff easily. 1978 Radio Times 18–24 Mar. 80 (Advt.), For kids who play rough, shoes that won't scuff. |
b. Of a metal part: to undergo scuffing (scuffing vbl. n. 3).
| 1959 Engineering 23 Jan. 117/3 The untreated mild steel rings scuffed shortly after being put under test. 1970 H. J. Watson Mod. Gear Production xvi. 283 The peaks [of helical gears] were prone to scuff or pit in service largely owing to the high local loading on the restricted areas. |
6. Comb., as scuff-resistant a., resistant to scuffing; hence scuff resistance.
| 1967 Times Rev. Industry May 84/3 The growing demand for higher gloss and better scuff and product resistance has led to the development of synthetic resin based types [of varnish]. |
| 1959 Spectator 21 Aug. 219 (Advt.), Everything from scuff-resistant flooring and unbreakable gramophone records to transparent polyethylene wrapping. 1978 Radio Times 18–24 Mar. 80 (Advt.), A shoe that's an astonishing 30 to 40 times more scuff-resistant than normal leather. |
Add: [2.] c. To mark or damage the surface of (shoes, furniture, etc.) by scraping or rubbing; to make shabby by wear and tear.
| 1909 Webster, Scuff, v.t...to injure or make shabby by wear. 1940 R. Chandler Farewell, my Lovely xxxvii. 280 The speedboat scuffed the Montecito's ancient sides. 1973 F. King Flights ix. 133 She kicked at the pavement, scuffing her sandal with ochre dust. 1988 N. Lowndes Chekago iv. 173 Boris's eldest son was sitting on a low nursery chair outside his parents' room scuffing the heels of his new school shoes. |
d. To shuffle, drag, or push (one's feet) in(to) or through something.
| 1909 Webster, Scuff, v.t...to drag while moving; to shuffle; as, to scuff the feet. 1936 M. Mitchell Gone with Wind xxxi. 519 She paused to..scuff her feet deeper into the strip of old quilting wrapped about them. 1938 M. K. Rawlings Yearling ix. 78 The lavender petals of the chinaberry blooms were falling. Jody scuffed his bare toes through them. 1980 W. Golding Rites of Passage (1982) 137, I threw on my greatcoat, scuffed my feet into slippers and felt my way out on deck. 1986 P. Barker Century's Daughter iv. 44 Liza scuffed her feet in the dust. |