scoff1

[skawf, skof] /skɔf, skɒf/
verb (used without object)
1.
to speak derisively; mock; jeer (often followed by at):
If you can't do any better, don't scoff. Their efforts toward a peaceful settlement are not to be scoffed at.
verb (used with object)
2.
to mock at; deride.
noun
3.
an expression of mockery, derision, doubt, or derisive scorn; jeer.
4.
an object of mockery or derision.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English scof; origin uncertain, but compare Old Norse skopa to scorn
Related forms
scoffer, noun
scoffingly, adverb
Synonyms
1. gibe. Scoff, jeer, sneer imply behaving with scornful disapproval toward someone or about something. To scoff is to express insolent doubt or derision, openly and emphatically: to scoff at a new invention. To jeer suggests expressing disapproval and scorn more loudly, coarsely, and unintelligently than in scoffing: The crowd jeered when the batter struck out. To sneer is to show by facial expression or tone of voice ill-natured contempt or disparagement: He sneered unpleasantly in referring to his opponent's misfortunes.
Antonyms
3. praise.

scoff2

[skawf, skof] /skɔf, skɒf/
verb (used without object), verb (used with object)
1.
to eat voraciously.
noun
2.
food; grub.
Origin
1855-60; earlier scaff; origin uncertain
Examples from the web for scoff
  • They scoff at the claim that drilling in this relatively small area would disrupt wildlife.
  • Art historians and religious scholars, however, scoff at the idea.
  • When the demand is a jest the fittest answer is a scoff.
  • Please do not scoff at the existence of things you have not seen.
  • Its a fair question and its a question that scientists typically scoff at answering.
  • Worse than hidden mental battles are those that scoff.
  • Copyright reformers and preservation-focused librarians tend to scoff at such worries.
  • But many philosophers scoff at the idea that they would get enmeshed in the issues of the day.
  • If you scoff at them as mere management clichés, find someone who takes them seriously.
  • As is obvious from the replies here some people think it would be fine while others would scoff at it.
British Dictionary definitions for scoff

scoff1

/skɒf/
verb
1.
(intransitive) often foll by at. to speak contemptuously (about); express derision (for); mock
2.
(transitive) (obsolete) to regard with derision
noun
3.
an expression of derision
4.
an object of derision
Derived Forms
scoffer, noun
scoffing, adjective
scoffingly, adverb
Word Origin
C14: probably from Scandinavian; compare Old Frisian skof mockery, Danish skof, skuf jest

scoff2

/skɒf/
verb
1.
to eat (food) fast and greedily; devour
noun
2.
food or rations
Word Origin
C19: variant of scaff food; related to Afrikaans, Dutch schoft quarter of the day, one of the four daily meals
Word Origin and History for scoff
v.

mid-14c., "jest, make light of something;" mid-15c., "make fun of, mock," from the noun meaning "contemptuous ridicule" (c.1300), from a Scandinavian source, cf. Old Norse skaup, skop "mockery, ridicule," Middle Danish skof "jest, mockery;" perhaps from Proto-Germanic *skub-, *skuf- (cf. Old English scop "poet," Old High German scoph "fiction, sport, jest, derision"), from PIE *skeubh- "to shove" (see shove (v.)).

Slang definitions & phrases for scoff

scoff

noun

Food: Beef heart is their favorite scoff (1846+)

verb
  1. To eat or drink, esp voraciously; scarf: I'll take you over so you can scoff (1846+)
  2. To steal; seize; plunder; swipe: Who scoffed my butts? (1893+)

[or-igin uncertain; perhaps fr Afrikaans schoft, defined in a 1600s dictionary as ''eating time for labourers or workmen foure times a day''; perhaps fr British dialect scaff; South African use in current senses is attested in late 1700s]