chaff

¹

[ chaf, chahf ]

noun

1. the husks of grains and grasses that are separated during threshing.
2. straw cut up for fodder.
3. worthless matter; refuse.
4. the membranous, usually dry, brittle bracts of the flowers of certain plants.
5. Also called window. Military. strips of metal foil dropped by an aircraft to confuse enemy radar by creating false blips.

chaff

²

[ chaf, chahf ]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to mock, tease, or jest in a good-natured way; banter:

   She chaffed him for working late. They joked and chaffed with each other.

noun

1. good-natured ridicule or teasing; raillery.

chaff

¹

/ tʃɑːf /

noun

1. the mass of husks, etc, separated from the seeds during threshing
2. finely cut straw and hay used to feed cattle
3. something of little worth; rubbish (esp in the phrase separate the wheat from the chaff )
4. the dry membranous bracts enclosing the flowers of certain composite plants
5. thin strips of metallic foil released into the earth's atmosphere to confuse radar signals and prevent detection

chaff

²

/ tʃɑːf /

noun

1. light-hearted teasing or joking; banter

verb

1. to tease good-naturedly; banter

Derived Forms

• ˈchaffy, adjective
• ˈchaffer, noun

Other Words From

• chaffless adjective
• chafflike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of chaff¹

before 1000; Middle English chaf, Old English ceaf; cognate with Middle Low German, Dutch kaf

Origin of chaff²

First recorded in 1640–50; perhaps from chaff ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of chaff¹

Old English ceaf; related to Old High German keva husk

Origin of chaff²

C19: probably slang variant of chafe , perhaps influenced by chaff ¹

Example Sentences

Seven hundred reviewers will attempt to separate the wheat from the chaff, while 1,300 arts industry professionals will scour the city for shows to take on tour, or make into television.

From BBC

He rubs off the papery chaff with his fingers, parboils them and covers them with seasoned rice vinegar in a jar for 24 hours.

From Seattle Times

The judge’s task will be to separate impartial-juror wheat from sleeper-cell chaff.

From Salon

For centuries, the process of milling rice — white or brown, sticky or sweet — produced bran, chaff and dust, and storing it brought vermin, fungi and spoilage.

From Seattle Times

In this week’s Amicus Plus segment, Jeremy Stahl sticks around to have a behind the scenes chat about how Slate’s jurisprudence team is tackling the thorny issue of reporting on the Trump trial - sorting wheat from chaff and stakes from horse race.

From Slate