Coffee has initially been a food – chewed, not sipped. Early African tribes consume coffee by grinding the berries together, adding some animal fat, and rolling the treats into tiny edible energy balls.
STIFFS
Noun
stiffs
plural of stiff
Verb
stiffs
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of stiff
Proper noun
Stiffs
plural of Stiff
Source: Wiktionary
STIFF
Stiff, a. [Compar. Stiffer; superl. Stiffest.] Etym: [OE. stif, AS. stif; akin to D. stijf, G. steif, Dan. stiv, Sw. styf, Icel. stifr, Lith. stipti to be stiff; cf. L. stipes a post, trunk of a tree, stipare to press, compress. Cf. Costive, Stifle, Stipulate, Stive to stuff.]
1. Not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not limber or flaccid; rigid; firm; as, stiff wood, paper, joints. [They] rising on stiff pennons, tower The mid aërial sky. Milton.
2. Not liquid or fluid; thick and tenacious; inspissated; neither soft nor hard; as, the paste is stiff.
3. Firm; strong; violent; difficult to oppose; as, a stiff gale or breeze.
4. Not easily subdued; unyielding; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; as, a stiff adversary. It is a shame to stand stiff in a foolish argument. Jer. Taylor. A war ensues: the Cretans own their cause, Stiff to defend their hospitable laws. Dryden.
5. Not natural and easy; formal; constrained; affected; starched; as, stiff behavior; a stiff style. The French are open, familiar, and talkative; the Italians stiff, ceremonious, and reserved. Addison.
6. Harsh; disagreeable; severe; hard to bear. [Obs. or Colloq.] "This is stiff news." Shak.
7. (Naut.)
Definition: Bearing a press of canvas without careening much; as, a stiff vessel; -- opposed to crank. Totten.
8. Very large, strong, or costly; powerful; as, a stiff charge; a stiff price. [Slang] Stiff neck, a condition of the neck such that the head can not be moved without difficulty and pain.
Syn.
– Rigid; inflexible; strong; hardly; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; harsh; formal; constrained; affected; starched; rigorous.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
31 March 2025
IMPROVISED
(adjective) done or made using whatever is available; “crossed the river on improvised bridges”; “the survivors used jury-rigged fishing gear”; “the rock served as a makeshift hammer”
Coffee Trivia
