Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a brief glance, a quick look.

1943		Sydney Morn. Herald 11 Dec. 7/1: ‘Shooftee’ for look is enjoying a new lease of life.
1943		Yorks. Post 2 Oct. n.p.: Scraps of Arabic were handed about to impress the men [...] ‘Imshi,’ and ‘Shufti’.
1944		L. Glassop We Were the Rats 200: Have a shuftie at this.
1947		D. Davin For the Rest of Our Lives 97: They’re trying to get a shufti to see what we’re up to.
1950		‘The Gallant Ninth’ in M. Page Kiss Me Goodnight, Sgt.-Major (1973) 184: I went back the other day, / To have a quiet shufti.
1959		W. Hall Long and the Short and the Tall Act II: You what? Let’s have a shufti.
1965		E. Bond Saved Sc. ix: Less ’ave a shufties.
1971		(con. WWII) B. Aldiss Soldier Erect 47: Stop talking shit and come and have a shafti at this stall.
1975		‘P.B. Yuill’ Hazell and the Three-card Trick (1977) 162: There’s this wallet on the floor. I have a quick shufti through it, see.
1977		(con. 1940s) O. Manning Danger Tree 11: Take a shufti.
1977		(con. 1941) R. Beilby Gunner 14: I’ll take a shoofti.
1978		A. Burgess 1985 (1980) 210: Take a shufti at Great Smith Street and you’ll find things nice and normal.
1983		A. Payne ‘Willesden Suite’ Minder [TV script] 58: I had a shufty at the register.
1985		J. Sullivan ‘To Hull and Back’ Only Fools and Horses [TV script] We’ll have a quick shufti over the back.
1998		I. Welsh Filth 114: That’s what the ghouls want a shufti at [...] they want to scrutinise those who really knew her.
1999		Observer Mag. 11 July 28: I had a bit of a peer around [...] a bit of a shufti.
2001		K. Sampson Outlaws (ms.) 27: Not good enough for one of the fucking goons. Nowhere near good enough for Telford muzzie man. Asks if he can have a shuftie in the boot.
2007		S. Maloney Sucked In 202: He was only inside a few seconds, but it was long enough to take a quick shufti.
2009		J. Joso Soothing Music for Stray Cats 30: One of us would take a shufty now and then for when the guard was about.
2013		K. Sampson Killing Pool 70: I’ll take my time, have a little shufti round here.
2024		J. Meades Empty Wigs (t/s) 113: Then there’s old folk coming to watch. Some of them is so old it’s like they got out of the grave specially for a guilty shufti.