cruff

comparative more cruff · superlative most cruff

1. CaribbeanCrude, rough, uncouth, tough.

   Dem gwan like ooman strong like man An cruff an rough an hard!

   They are going to like a woman strong like a man / And crude and rough and hard!

   1982, Louise Bennett-Coverley, “Tan-up Seat”, in Selected Poems

   1 more example

   but if he looks a bit cruff ... an’ he says, ‘Wa ’appen, son. Wa gwaan’, an’ all dem tings der, an’ you start to speak to him in English, then you just break into the Jamaican habit – patois

   1986, Roger Hewitt, quoting an anonymous black British informant, White Talk Black Talk: Inter-racial Friendship and Communication amongst Adolescents, page 108

plural cruffs

1. CaribbeanA person who is uncouth, crude, or tough.

   Rufus was a Barbadian cruff Who got the news how Miss Ida rough. Rufus say, “Jamaica bwoi too light, So I am going to show them how to fight.”

   1955, “Rough Rider”, Alerth Bedasse (lyrics), Everard Williams (music)

   1 more example

   “But the miserable cruff never did come back. He abandoned us! They say he went off into the woods to grow some exotic crop.” “Exotic Jamaican crop? It could be anything.”

   2024 September 9, Bill Odenkirk, “Planet Espresso” (2:48 from the start), in Futurama, season 12, episode 7, spoken by Hermes Conrad (Phil LaMarr)

2. CaribbeanderogatoryoftenA lazy person; someone of little value.

   “You still the living bumpkin from the land of Oz!” “And you’re still a cruff wid no gyal!”

   2023, Alex Wheatle, Sufferah: Memoir of a Brixton Reggae Head, page 85