spiffy

[spif-ee] /ˈspɪf i/

adjective, spiffier, spiffiest. Informal.

spruce; smart; fine.

Also, spiffing

[spif-ing] /ˈspɪf ɪŋ/ (Show IPA). especially British, spivvy, spivving.

Origin

1855-60; dial. spiff well-dressed (origin uncertain) + -y¹

Related forms

spiffily, adverb

spiffiness, noun

Examples from the web for spiffy

spiffy sounding degree programs are a marketing ploy, not a mandate from industry.
And this won't be the company's last foray into spiffy data visualization.
The doormen also have spiffy, tan leather caps to match.
Maybe you've seen the spiffy new blue cars zipping around the testing grounds.
The restaurant displays a spiffy new hunter green marquee outside and a garden motif within.
It consists of a dozen well-built-in fact, quite spiffy-plank shacks on pilings.
It could be a vacation or that spiffy leather jacket, but reward yourself for managing your money effectively.
With the best intentions folks venture out to spiffy up the markers.
But great ideas and spiffy, new bells and whistles that sound good and look good may not perform when the chips are down.
There is always something invigorating about a spiffy new performance space.

British Dictionary definitions for spiffy

spiffy

/ˈspɪfɪ/

adjective -fier, -fiest

(US & Canadian, slang) smart; stylish

Derived Forms

spiffily, adverb
spiffiness, noun

Word Origin

C19: from dialect spiff

Word Origin and History for spiffy

adj.

1853, of uncertain origin, probably related to spiff "well-dressed man." Spiffing "excellent" was very popular in 1870s slang. Uncertain relationship to spiff (n.) "percentage allowed by drapers to their young men when they effect sale of old fashioned or undesirable stock" (1859), or to spiflicate "confound, overcome completely," a cant word from 1749 preserved in American English slang spiflicated "drunk," first recorded 1906 in O.Henry.

Slang definitions & phrases for spiffy

spiffy

adjective

Elegant; excellent; snazzy: They wear spiffy red-and-gold scarves/ New Model Buggy for Amish Is Spiffy (1853+)

adverb

Well; elegantly: They don't translate so spiffy (1937+)

spiffy in Technology

/spi'fee/ 1. Said of programs having a pretty, clever, or exceptionally well-designed interface. "Have you seen the spiffy X version of empire yet?" This was common mainstream slang during the 1940s.
2. Said sarcastically of a program that is perceived to have little more than a flashy interface going for it. Which meaning should be drawn depends delicately on tone of voice and context.
[Jargon File]