different between stiff vs brisk

English

Etymology

From Middle English stiff, stiffe, stif, from Old English st?f, from Proto-Germanic *st?faz (compare West Frisian stiif,Dutch stijf, Norwegian Bokmål stiv, German steif), from Proto-Indo-European *steypós (compare Latin st?pes, st?p?, from which English stevedore).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /st?f/
• Rhymes: -?f

Adjective

stiff (comparative stiffer, superlative stiffest)

1. (of an object) Rigid; hard to bend; inflexible.

   • “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; […]. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache.

2. (figuratively, of policies and rules and their application and enforcement) Inflexible; rigid.
3. (of a person) Formal in behavior; unrelaxed.
4. (colloquial) Harsh, severe.
5. (of muscles or parts of the body) Painful as a result of excessive or unaccustomed exercise.

6. Potent.

7. Dead, deceased.
8. (of a penis) Erect.
9. (cooking, of whipping cream or egg whites) Beaten until so aerated that they stand up straight on their own.

   beat the egg whites until they are stiff

10. (mathematics) Of an equation: for which certain numerical solving methods are numerically unstable, unless the step size is taken to be extremely small.
11. (nautical) Keeping upright.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:stiff.

Derived terms

• bored stiff, scared stiff
• stiff-lipped, stiff upper lip
• stiffy

Translations

Noun

stiff (countable and uncountable, plural stiffs)

1. (slang) An average person, usually male, of no particular distinction, skill, or education, often a working stiff or lucky stiff.

   A Working Stiff's Manifesto: A Memoir of Thirty Jobs I Quit, Nine That Fired Me, and Three I Can't Remember was published in 2003.

2. (slang) A person who is deceived, as a mark or pigeon in a swindle.

   She convinced the stiff to go to her hotel room, where her henchman was waiting to rob him.

3. (slang) A cadaver; a dead person.
4. (slang) A flop; a commercial failure.
   • 1994, Andy Dougan, The actors' director: Richard Attenborough behind the camera (page 63)

     If the movie was a stiff it wasn't any of their specific faults. They were all in it together and they were jobbed in and jobbed out for two weeks and gone and they got a pile of money for their efforts.

   • 2016, Ralph J. Gleason, Toby Gleason, Music in the Air: The Selected Writings of Ralph J. Gleason

     They never did sell any records. I don't mean they didn't sell 100,000. I mean they didn't sell 5000. Total. National. Coast-to-coast. The record was a stiff.

5. (US, slang) A person who leaves (especially a restaurant) without paying the bill.
6. (US, slang, by extension) A customer who does not leave a tip.
7. (blackjack) Any hard hand where it is possible to exceed 21 by drawing an additional card.
8. (finance, slang) Negotiable instruments, possibly forged.
9. (prison slang) A note or letter surreptitiously sent by an inmate.

References

• (prison slang: a note or letter): 2015, Eric Partridge, A Dictionary of the Underworld: British and American (page 688); 2015, Noel 'Razor' Smith, The Criminal Alphabet: An A-Z of Prison Slang

See also

• bindlestiff
• See also Thesaurus:corpse, Thesaurus:body

Translations

Derived terms

• do a bit of stiff
• working stiff

Verb

stiff (third-person singular simple present stiffs, present participle stiffing, simple past and past participle stiffed)

1. To fail to pay that which one owes (implicitly or explicitly) to another, especially by departing hastily.

   Realizing he had forgotten his wallet, he stiffed the taxi driver when the cab stopped for a red light.

   • 1946, William Foote Whyte, Industry and Society, page 129

     We asked one girl to explain how she felt when she was "stiffed." She said, You think of all the work you've done and how you've tried to please [them…].

2. to cheat someone
   • 1992, Stephen Birmingham, Shades of Fortune, page 451

     You see, poor Nonie really was stiffed by Adolph in his will. He really stiffed her, Rose, and I really wanted to right that wrong.

3. to tip ungenerously
   • 2007, Mary Higgins Clark, I Heard That Song Before, page 154

     Then he stiffed the waiter with a cheap tip.

Translations

Anagrams

• TIFFs, tiffs

Middle English

Adjective

stiff

1. Alternative form of stif

Adverb

stiff

1. Alternative form of stif

English

Etymology

Uncertain. Compare Welsh brwysg and French brusque.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b??sk/
• Rhymes: -?sk

Adjective

brisk (comparative brisker or more brisk, superlative briskest or most brisk)

1. Full of liveliness and activity; characterized by quickness of motion or action

   Synonyms: lively, spirited, quick

   We took a brisk walk yesterday.
2. Full of spirit of life; effervescing
3. (archaic) sparkling; fizzy

   brisk cider

4. Stimulating or invigorating.

   This morning was a brisk fall day. It wasn't cold enough for frost, but you wanted to keep moving.
5. Abrupt, curt in one's manner or in relation to others.
   • 1919, W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, ch. 15

     Her manner was brisk, and her good-breeding scarcely concealed her conviction that if you were not a soldier you might as well be a counter-jumper.

Translations

See also

• brusque

Verb

brisk (third-person singular simple present brisks, present participle brisking, simple past and past participle brisked)

1. (transitive, intransitive, often with "up") To make or become lively; to enliven; to animate.

Further reading

• brisk in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• brisk in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• brisk at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Birks, birks

Albanian

Etymology

From brej, possibly related to Proto-Indo-European *bhrisqo- (“bitter”). Compare Norwegian brisk (“bitter taste”), brisken (“bitter, sharp”), Welsh brysg, French brusque, Russian ????????? (brezgát?, “nauseate, feel disgust”), English brisk.

Noun

brisk m

1. razor
2. sharp, smart, keen, freezing cold

Lithuanian

Alternative forms

• briski

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [b?r??s?k]

Verb

brìsk

1. second-person singular imperative of bristi

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Possibly onomatopoetic of the sound made when put on fire.

Noun

brisk m (definite singular brisken, indefinite plural briskar, definite plural briskane)

1. juniper

Synonyms

• brake, einer

Etymology 2

From Middle Low German britse, britsche, briske.

Noun

brisk m (definite singular brisken, indefinite plural briskar, definite plural briskane)

1. a wall-bound sleeping bench

References