to chaff
1
7.5
- verb
- /tʃæf/
- UK
:
tomar el pelo
- I must chaff him about that.
Examples
-
"Perhaps there's nothing to understand, old paidagogos," chaffed Oedipus, "and you're out of a job."
Fiction book (1995) -
If I gave you a task to perform quietly, could I trust you not to blow the gab by chaffing to your friends? Sometimes Dipper's vocabulary had its uses.
Fiction book (1993) -
For some time, the girls had been chaffing him with their loud laughing voices, but Moustique, wrapped up in other thoughts, had scarcely been aware of them.
Fiction book (2000) -
We often chaff each other during our lunch breaks, sharing jokes and light-hearted teasing.
-
At the party, friends laughed and chaffed him about his terrible dance moves.
-
During the game, they would chaff each other to keep the mood light and fun.
Synonyms
∞
3.5
To tease someone in a friendly, playful way
40
2.4
To say funny things and behave in a playful way to make people laugh
25
3.9
To make jokes about someone to make them look silly
23
3.4
To make jokes about someone, sometimes to be playful and sometimes to be unkind
7
6.5
Make fun of someone in a friendly, playful way
5
9.1
To tease someone in a playful or annoying way
2
3.8
To tease someone in a friendly, joking way
1
8.1
To tease someone in a playful way
1
4.5
To joke in a light, playful way
1
4.1
To tell someone something that is not true to make them laugh
1
8.7
To make a playful joke or trick someone to make them laugh
To make fun of someone in a playful way
Idioms
- Informal
3
6.6
To pick out useful people or things from those that are not
How Teasing
Surface Forms
Etymology
Chaff as a verb meaning to tease probably comes from the idea of chaff as 'light' or 'unimportant' material, so to chaff someone is to treat them lightly with friendly jokes. A helpful way to remember it is to think of playful teasing as throwing 'chaff' at a friend.