spliff

English

Alternative forms

• spiff
• spleef
• splif

Etymology

From Jamaican Creole, possibly a blend of split, referring to the ready-made wrap + whiff, referring to the smell of the smoke.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /splɪf/

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪf

Noun

spliff (plural spliffs)

1. (slang, Jamaica, UK, Australia) A cannabis cigarette.

   smoke a spliff

   • 1992, Victor Headley, Yardie‎^[2], 1993 edition, New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, page 167:

     Pablo switched off the wipers and struck a match to light the spliff he had just finished building.

   • 2001, Niall Griffiths, Sheepshagger‎^[3], 2002 edition, New York: Thomas Dunne, page 104:

     Danny takes another toke on the spliff and then passes it over to Griff, who accepts it and draws deep on it and then points with the lit end across the room at Gwenno like some strange weatherman indicating a pocket of high pressure.

   • 2016, Kei Miller, “Chapter 1”, in Augustown, New York: Pantheon, pages 14-15:

     “Well, well, well,” Ma Taffy says, sitting back and returning the spliff to her mouth. She exhales a cloud of ganja that envelops herself and the boy.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:marijuana cigarette

Translations

a marijuana cigarette

• Finnish: marihuanasavuke, marihuanasätkä, (colloquial) jointti (fi), marisätkä, spliffi
• French: spliff (fr) m, joint (fr) m, pétard (fr) m
• German: Joint (de) m
• Greek: μπάφος (el) m (báfos)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: canna (it) f
• Russian: кося́к (ru) m (kosják)
• Spanish: porro (es), petardo (es) m (Spain)
• Turkish: pafküf, paf küf, cigara

Verb

spliff (third-person singular simple present spliffs, present participle spliffing, simple past and past participle spliffed)

1. (rare) To smoke a spliff.

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Jamaican Creole

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsplɪf/
• Hyphenation: spliff

Noun

spliff (plural spliff dem, quantified spliff)

1. A conical marijuana cigarette; a joint; a spliff.

   Yuh can drink a beer but don't yuh dare bun a spliff.

   You can have a beer but don't you dare smoke a joint.

Further reading

• Richard Allsopp, editor (1996), Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage, Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 524