riffraff
riffraff Lexical Profile
riffraff Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Disreputable, undesirable, or lower-class people regarded collectively with contempt.
"The exclusive country club instituted a strict dress code in a snobbish attempt to keep out what the board considered riffraff."
Worthless, miscellaneous rubbish, odds and ends, or trash.
"We spent the entire Saturday afternoon clearing decades of accumulated riffraff out of the dusty attic."
Word Nuance & Usage
"Riffraff" is an uncountable collective noun that is strongly pejorative and elitist; it takes either a singular or plural verb depending on whether the group is viewed as a single unit or as individuals.
Word Origin & Etymology
Dating back to the late 15th century, "riffraff" comes from the Middle English phrase "rif and raf" (meaning "every single bit" or "things of small value"), borrowed from Old French "rif et raf," combining verbs related to scraping and sweeping away.