OFF: UK slang?

[J Strobridge]

Ted Jackson jr. writes:

> > > I'm chuffed,

> Just curious as to the meaning of 'Chuffed?'  I seem to remember
> Falstaff calling the victims of his raiding party 'ye fat chuffes.'
> What is a chuff, and what is being chuffed?
> theo

heh - I love these <educational mode on - info from Websters dictionary:>

Could be a spelling problem here as well as a mixture of absorbed
languages over the years.   Leastways:

a chough (pronounced chuff from Middle English language period) is a bird -
large and glossy black with red legs which is related to the crow family.

also from Middle English is

chuff (chuffe) a boor or churl  (i.e. crude, aggressive, uneducated
peasant)

but then there's:

chuff (imitation) a noisy exhaust or exhalation
chuffy (English dialect) fat or chubby
and
chuffed (colloquial) very pleased

Falstaff's comment could be comparing them to fat birds but then he
could be describing them as boors as well I guess.

chuffed meaning pleased could come from being chubby and happy (all
chuffed up?) perhaps?

yours in linguistic confusion

jill

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J.D.Strobridge at ed.ac.uk                         eset08 at tattoo.ed.ac.uk
                                                ELIJSA at srv0.arts.ed.ac.uk

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