Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to hoax, to fool, to trick; thus spoofing n. and adj.

1889		E. Dowson letter 10 Mar. Letters (1967) 48: It is the ‘après’ wh. spoofs us. [Ibid.] letter 11 Nov. 115: The Lord Mayorlet’s Tom Foolery was a nuisance. I spoofed it successfully by going from Limehouse to Bloomsbury by tram.
1889		Dead Bird (Sydney) 27 July 7/1: [of the victim of a ‘welshing’ bookmaker] If people will get spoofed, they [i.e. racecourse authorities] can’t possibly act as dry nurse to them.
1890		Sporting Times 1 Feb. 1/1: Spoofing Continental flies is playing it a bit low down.
1891		Ware & Dumas [perf. Marie Lloyd] The Young Country Squire 🎵 And it was his intentions her Auntie to spoof.
1901		D. Cotsford Society Snapshots 131: You’re spoofing me a bit.
1904		Sun. Times (Perth) 19 June 1/1: He had swallowed some gallons of disagreeable drugs before discovering he was ‘spoofed’.
1905		H. Green Actors’ Boarding House (1906) 276: No spoofing; I’m a gent, I hope.
1910		Magnet 3 Sept. 8: You’re such a blessed spoofing young humbug!
1914		S. Lewis Our Mr Wrenn (1936) 142: He was just spoofing.
1928		D. Hammett ‘This King Business’ Story Omnibus (1966) 106: Colonel Einarson was spoofing us tonight.
1934		J. Franklyn This Gutter Life 170: I’m not spoofing.
1949		A.I. Bezzerides Thieves’ Market 131: Oh, he’s spoofing, honey [...] He’s just a great kidder.
1953		W. Eyster Far from the Customary Skies 92: You’re just spoofin’ me, that’s what.
1964		J. Baldwin Blues for Mister Charlie 100: Stud ain’t got nothing — you people been spoofing the public, man.
1976		H. Leonard Time Was (1981) Act I: Spoofed the lot of us.
1999		Indep. Rev. 10 Aug. 1: The programme which spoofed the media’s reporting of drug issues.
2000		Guardian Rev. 25 Mar. 10: Spoofing an entire festival audience.
2017		S.M. Jones August Snow [ebook] ‘He wouldn’t be cool if he knew I was spoofin’ a call to you right now’.
2020		C. Hiaasen Squeeze Me 31: Pruitt being skilled at spoofing caller IDs.

2. (US) to make fun of; thus spoofing n.

1915		S. Ford Torchy, Private Sec. 117: Quit your spoofin’ [...] or I’ll ring for Aunty and tell how you’ve been kiddin’ the guest of honor.
1916		O.O. McIntyre New York Day By Day 5 Sept. [synd. col.] Some day I’m going to tell readers my first name. And then they will wonder why I spoofed Hamish — .
1940		in W.C. Fields By Himself (1974) 173: The people of Kansas City were going all over town cursing me because I had spoofed them in ‘Chickadee’.
1947		C. Willingham End as a Man (1952) 53: Maybe we shouldn’t spoof something that other people feel so emotional about.
1964		E. Wilson Earl Wilson’s New York 22: [H]ere [...] Washington Irving did some of his wittiest spoofing of his forefathers.

3. (US campus) to engage in sexual activity short of intercourse [link to spoof n.² ].

1987

Eble Campus Sl. Spring 7: spoof – kiss, hug, foreplay: We were spoofing all night in the back seat of his car.

4. (US campus) to blunder.

1991

Eble Campus Sl. Mar. 9: spoof – to make a mistake.