Green’s Dictionary of Slang

huff n.

[SE huff, to puff, to blow up]

1. a blusterer, a bully.

[UK]Skelton Agenst Garnesche ii line 16: Huf, a galante, Garnesche, loke on your comely cors!
[UK]T. Preston Cambyses Three ruffians, Huff, Ruff, and Snuff.
[UK]G. Harvey Pierce’s Supererogation 137: Huff, Ruff, and Snuffe, the three tame ruffians of the Church.
[UK]H. Glapthorne Lady Mother III ii: Walke, walke, you and your Capain Huff to London.
[Ire]Head Canting Academy (2nd edn) 78: The Instruments in chief of a Bawds trade are an Hector or Huff which seems instead of the Gyant to defend her inchanted Castle from being violated.
[UK]Behn Rover V i: See how this—Huff becomes—this Dammy—flare— / Which they at home may act, because they dare, / But—must with prudent Caution do elsewhere.
‘Bully Whig’ in N. Thompson Choice Collection of 120 Loyal Songs 263: Tom once was Cock-a-hoop / Of all the Huffs in Town; / But now his Pride must stoop, / His Courage is pull'd down.
[UK]B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Huff a Bullying Fellow.
[UK]T. Brown Amusements Serious and Comical in Works (1744) III 73: Every dunce of a quack is call’d a physician [...] every silly huff a captain.
[UK]New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
[UK]Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
[UK]G. Andrewes Dict. Sl. and Cant.
[Scot](con. early 17C) Sir W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel II 141: I remember the Huffs, the Muns, and the Tityre-tu’s by whom your grace’s ancestors and predecessors were advised. [Ibid.] 145: By spigot and barrel, / By bilbo and buff; /Thou art sworn to the quarrel / Of the blades of the huff.
[UK]G. Kent Modern Flash Dict.
[UK]Flash Dict. in Sinks of London Laid Open.

2. a bad temper; usu. as in a huff.

[UK]Greene Second Part of Conny-Catching in Grosart (1881–3) X 101: Conny-catchers, those base excrements of dishonesty, they in their huffes report they have got one ([blank space]) I wil not bewray his name.
[UK]H. Porter Two Angry Women of Abington E: And as to me thou saist, to him I said, But in a greater huffe, and hotter bloud.
[UK]Etherege Man of Mode I i: Tax her with the next fop that comes into my head, and in a huff march away.
[UK]T. Shadwell Squire of Alsatia III i: If you were not the brother to my dearest friend, I know what my honour would prompt me to [Walks in a huff].
[Scot] ‘Taylors Resolution to be Reveng’d of these Petticoat Press-Masters’ in Euing Broadside Ballads No. 4: Welsh Shone’s in a huff, said that’s not enough.
[UK]Farquhar Constant Couple II ii: I offer’d her fifty guineas, and she was in her airs presently, and flew away in a huff.
[UK]Swift letter v 5 Oct. in Journal to Stella (1901) 28: Now you are in a huff because I tell you this.
[UK] ‘The Wanton Virgins Frightened’ in Farmer Merry Songs and Ballads (1897) I 223: Quoth the old Daddy, I was in a huff.
[UK]J. Gay Rehearsal at Goatham I x: The Emperor, you see, is in a Huff.
[UK]H. Howard Choice Spirits Museum 56: No longer we tremble when France in a Huff, Swears she’ll give poor England a damn’d Blow.
[UK]Smollett Humphrey Clinker (1925) I 140: He went away in a huff, at a minute’s warning.
[US] in F. Moore Songs and Ballads of the Amer. Revolution (1855) 263: Our brethren [...] Who quit their old friends in a huff.
[Ire] ‘The Coughing Old Man’ Irish Songster 2: To him then I turn’d my back in a huff.
[UK]Derby Mercury 11 Aug. 4/1: A rank Tyrant in Heart, / From Paris set out in a Huff / And most solemnly swore / [...] / He’d trim the poor Englishman’s Buff.
[Ire]Spirit of Irish Wit 6: He went off in a huff.
[US]J. Neal Brother Jonathan II 86: What a huff you’re at! I only axed a question.
[UK] ‘Randy Johnny!’ in Bang-Up Songster 9: In spite of all their huffs and cuffs, / He bedded every maid.
[UK]R. Barham ‘The Wedding-Day’ in Ingoldsby Legends (1847) 223: If any young man [...] goes off to sea in a huff, / Depend on’t, my friends, that young man is a Muff!
[UK]T. Hughes Tom Brown’s School-Days (1896) 270: ‘Well,’ said Tom, getting up in something as like a huff as he was capable of.
[UK]Mark Lemon Golden Fetters I 163: He went off in a huff, cussing and swearing.
[UK]R. Broughton Nancy II 92: I [...] stop talking in a huff.
[Ire]C.J. Kickham Knocknagow 348: Miss Grace was quite troubled to think that it was because he was ‘huffed’ by the way she ‘treated him’ that he left them so abruptly.
[Scot]Greenock Advertiser 15 June 4/1: Jem Brady went off in a huff.
[Aus]H. Lawson ‘Thin Lips and False Teeth’ in Roderick (1972) 241: She flounced off in a huff.
[Aus]Sun. Times (Perth) 20 Jan. 1/1: Both [damsels] are mashed on the curly-haired cyclist [and] the unsuccessful donah had an attack of ‘huff’.
[Aus]C.J. Dennis ‘The Stoush O’ Day’ in Songs of a Sentimental Bloke 29: An’ narked, the sun, ’is backer, in a huff, / Sneaks outer sight, red in the face wiv rage.
[US]Dos Passos Three Soldiers 319: ‘We must know each other better,’ she said. ‘I like you for going off in a huff.’.
[UK]P. O’Donnell Islanders (1933) 98: It’s a quare ould grin he had on him, an’ be me sowl, Biddy, nobody noticed any huff on yerself.
[UK]M. Marshall Travels of Tramp-Royal 173: If you refuse they drive off in a huff, talking to themselves.
[US]H. Miller Tropic of Capricorn (1964) 36: She went out in a huff taking the brats with her.
[Aus]Western Mail (Perth) 26 Aug. 3/1: I call him a ‘Yehudi’ (Jew). That is an insult to an Arab and he goes off in a huff.
[US]N. Algren Man with the Golden Arm 116: She’d gone off in such a high-wheeled huff.
[UK]J. Orton Diaries (1986) 17 Apr. 138: He rang off in a great huff.
[UK]A. Bleasdale Scully 69: I knew he’d be going off all in a huff.
[Scot]I. Welsh Filth 175: I play at being in the huff and swan off to get a paper.
[UK]A. Warner Sopranos 285: Manda juss did a big huff out.
[UK]N. Griffiths Grits 451: Ee went Sioned off in a huff befaw by callin er a racist cow.
[Aus]P. Papathanasiou Stoning 117: ‘[S]tomping away ina grim huff’.

3. a dodge or trick.

[UK]Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc. (2nd edn).
[UK]Hotten Sl. Dict.
[UK]Sl. Dict.

4. (US drugs) an inhalant,, an act of inhalation.

[US]G. Pelecanos Shoedog 193: He had rubbed his face [...] before deciding to pour some glue into the brown bag and have a huff.
[US]Franklin Favorite (KY) 21 Nov. 17/2: Some slang terms for inhalants are glue, kick, bang, sniff, huff, poppers, whippets and Texas shoe shine.

5. see huffcap n.

In phrases

take (the) huff (v.)

to lose one’s temper, to take offence.

[UK]Thrale Thraliana I May 28 43: I confess I did take an Aversion to the Creature, & secretly resolved his Stay should not be prolonged by my Intreaties, whenever his Greatness chose to take huff & be gone.
[UK]Morn. Post (London) 8 June 1/2: We want John Bull to take the huff.
[UK]J. Bell Jr. (ed.) Rhymes of Northern Bards 78: Your milliner’s spruce, not so apt to take huff.
[Aus]‘Rolf Boldrewood’ Robbery Under Arms (1922) 18: I’m [...] sorry that you take huff at an old friend.
[Aus]Coburg Leader (Vic.) 5 Oct. 4/2: V.A. took the huff with F.
[NZ]H. Thompson ‘Another Station Ballad’ in Ballads About Business and Back-Block Life 47: Ye’ll never tire of mutton, and ye’ll never take the huff.
[Aus]Western Champion (Qld) 12 Dec. 3/1: The barmaid was particularly haughty [...] She took the huff too just becos I leaned across the bar and whispered somethin’ in her pink ear.
[US]Wood & Goddard Dict. Amer. Sl.
[Scot]C. Brookmyre A Big Boy Did It And Ran Away 20: They didn’t want to get too fresh in case you took the huff.