chaff
To use light, idle language by way of fun or ridiculeTo use light, idle language by way of fun or ridicule; to banter.
» Old birds are not caught with chaff.
Стреляного воробья на мякине не проведёшь. — naXa
Старых птиц на мякину не поймаешь. — naXa
naXa · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
3 senses(intransitive)To use light, idle language by way of fun or ridicule; to banter.
(transitive)To make fun of; to turn into ridicule by addressing in ironical or bantering language.
(transitive)To cut up (straw or hay) for use as cattle feed.
- be silly or tease one another
Examples
11 sentencesOld birds are not caught with chaff.
ruСтреляного воробья на мякине не проведёшь. — naXa
You really are the chaff of humanity.
Let's separate the wheat from the chaff.
He separated the wheat from the chaff.
deEr hat die Spreu vom Weizen getrennt. — Esperantostern
I'm separating the wheat from the chaff.
Origin
From Middle English chaf, from Old English ċeaf, from Proto-West Germanic *kaf. Cognate wiFrom Middle English chaf, from Old English ċeaf, from Proto-West Germanic *kaf. Cognate with Scots caff, Saterland Frisian Sääf, West Frisian tsjêf, Dutch kaf, German Low German Kaff, regional German Kaff.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
chaffs, chaffing, chaffed, chaffedSynonyms
5 synonymsWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle