spoof
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: spo͞of
ipa: /spuːf/
rhymes: -uːf
Forms: form: spoofs
Etymology: Coined by the English comedian Arthur Roberts (1852–1933) in 1884 as the name of a card game involving deception and nonsense.
Senses: examples: text: “Rahther, I say. But you understand, of course, that I’m giving him a bit of spoof.” / “A bit of what?” / “Spoof—spoof. Is it possible that you have been here since Saturday without learning what ‘spoof’ means? It means to chaff, to joke. In the States the slang equivalent would be ‘to string’ someone.” / “How did you learn it?” / “A cabby told me about it. I started to have some fun with him, and he told me to ‘give over on the spoof.’[…]”
ref: 1906, George Ade, “What One Man Picked Up in London and Sent Back to His Brother”, in In Pastures New, Toronto, Ont.: The Musson Book Company, →OCLC, pages 76–77:
glosses: An act of deception; a hoax; a joking prank.
examples: text: On Broadway, where it opened in 1949, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was a spoof of the madcap Twenties which gave Carol Channing her first starring role; on the screen, it was an up-to-date spoof of sex which gave Marilyn Monroe her first starring role in a musical.
ref: 1999 August, Stanley Green, Elaine Schmidt, “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, in Hollywood Musicals Year by Year, 2nd edition, Milwaukee, Wis.: Hal Leonard Corporation, →ISBN, page 177:
text: The final piece of the country puzzle is found at the corner of Brisbane Street and Kable Avenue, where the Hands of Fame cornerstone bears the palm-prints of more country greats. A glorious spoof, the Noses of Fame memorial, can be savoured over a beer at the Tattersalls Hotel on Peel Street.
ref: 2003, Margo Daly, Anne Dehne, David Leffman, Chris Scott, “New South Wales and ACT”, in The Rough Guide to Australia, 6th edition, New York, N.Y.; London: Rough Guides, →ISBN, pages 330–331:
glosses: A light parody.
examples: text: The British journalist and author Richard Boston supplies an illustrative example of a drinking game once commonly played in British public houses but which has since faded from use: The game Spoof involves three or more players concealing between zero and three coins or similar small objects in a clenched fist that they hold in front of their body or place on the bar counter or table. Players are then prompted to correctly guess the total number of coins held by all players. As the game progresses, correct guesses allow players to drop out until the final round, in which the "loser," determined by making an incorrect guess, is punished by being required to buy the next round of drinks.
ref: 2015, Thomas Thurnell-Read, “Drinking Games”, in Scott C. Martin, editor, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Alcohol: Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives, Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE Reference, →ISBN:
glosses: A drinking game in which players hold up to three (or another specified number of) coins hidden in a fist and attempt to guess the total number of coins held.
examples: text: I think you used the expression that you came out because people at home were not aware whether it was "spoof" or whether it really could be carried into effect?—A large number of people at home thought it was "spoof."
ref: 1904, House of Commons, Parliament of the United Kingdom, Sessional Papers, volume 39, London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, →OCLC, paragraph 9,049, page 376, column 1:
glosses: Nonsense.
Synonyms: sense: light parody
word: parody
sense: light parody
word: satire
sense: light parody
word: send-up
sense: light parody
word: sendup
Derived terms: word: spoofable
word: spoofer
word: spoofery
word: spoofing
word: unspoofable