chaff
chaff Lexical Profile
chaff Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The dry, scaly husks of corn or other cereal grain separated by winnowing or threshing, or finely chopped hay and straw used as fodder for livestock.
"The farmers used a wooden winnowing fan to toss the harvested wheat into the breeze and blow away the loose chaff."
Anything considered worthless, trivial, or useless; rubbish or refuse.
"A skilled editor knows how to separate the wheat from the chaff when reviewing hundreds of manuscript submissions."
Lighthearted, good-natured teasing or banter.
"He took his teammates' good-humored chaff in stride after missing the easy shot."
Thin strips of metallized foil or fiber dispersed in the air to reflect radio waves and confuse radar detection systems.
"Early radar operators noticed that clouds of metallic chaff created false echoes on their tracking screens."
• verb
To tease or mock someone in a playful, good-natured manner.
"His older sisters chaffed him mercilessly about how long he spent getting ready for the school dance."
To chop hay or straw into fine pieces for use as livestock fodder.
"The farmhands spent the afternoon chaffing straw to mix with the cattle's winter feed."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'chaff' (rhymes with 'laugh', meaning grain husks or to tease good-naturedly) with 'chafe' (rhymes with 'safe', meaning to rub until sore or to become irritated).
• Rhymes for chaff
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'ceaf' (meaning husks of corn or grain), derived from a West Germanic root related to Middle Dutch 'kaf' and German 'Kaff'.