Chaff
/tʃæf/
Definitions
2 meaningsThe husks of grain separated from the seed by threshing.
/tʃæf/
Worthless parts of plants
The wind blew the chaff away.
💡 Simply: Imagine shaking a bag of wheat. The little bits of dry plant stuff that fly away are the chaff. It's the useless part.
👶 For kids: The bits of plant that aren't the yummy seeds.
More Examples
The farmer winnowed the chaff from the wheat.
How It's Used
"The farmer separated the wheat from the chaff."
To tease playfully; to make light of.
/tʃæf/
To tease or joke
The kids chaffed each other all day.
💡 Simply: Chaffing is like gently teasing someone. It's playful banter, not mean! Like saying, "Hey, nice shoes! Did you buy them at a garage sale?" in a friendly way.
👶 For kids: To joke with someone.
More Examples
He tried to chaff her into going to the party.
How It's Used
"He chaffed her about her new haircut."
From Old English *ceaft, from Proto-Germanic *kæftą, related to Old High German cheft "chaff", and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰep- "to grasp, seize". The meaning developed from the idea of grasping or collecting the worthless material.
Historically, the noun meaning was much more prevalent. The verb use evolved later as a more figurative use of the word.
Memory tip
Think of 'chaff' as the stuff you 'chafe' away (rub away) to get to the good grain.