What does Riff/Riffed mean?

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TigerLily-1

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Many posters on CAF use the words riff, riffed and riffing in their posts and I don’t know what it means. My understanding of “riff” is it’s a term used in music.

What do CAF posters mean when they use the words riff, riffed and riffing?
 
When I think of riffing, I think of people watching a bad movie and pointing out the inconsistencies and errors and plot fails. So in my mind, riffing on something involves making sarcastic comments on someone else’s perceived failure to think things through.
 
That meaning would never have occurred to me and explains why it’s difficult to understand what some are talking about. 😄

Thank you Midori!
 
In British English, ‘riffling through’ something means glancing through/searching through something - for instance, old emails, letters etc, or even clothes, Does that match the context you are thinking of?
 
I always thought a riff was a piece you played on the guitar.
 
paperwight said:
In British English, ‘riffling through’ something means glancing through/searching through something
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People say they “riff through” a book of the Bible or they were “riffing” through something or other and your explanation fits best.

But there are other times when that explanation doesn’t fit and @midori’s explanation fits better.
 
Thank you @BartholomewB! The dictionary definitions are very helpful. #4 explains ways I’ve encountered “riff” used on CAF and other places on the web but the dictionary doesn’t seem to cover many other ways the word is also used.

@midori and @paperwight’s explanations are also helpful. Perhaps others are giving the word their own definitions as the meaning evolves?

Another word I see that’s acquired a newer meaning I don’t quite understand is the word hack. E.g, 10 easy hacks you can make in your kitchen. ⛏️ Huh?!
 
Riff means taking the ball and running with it, like when people go off topic and then run with that, and lose sight of the OP.

Or, can simply mean your pants are too tight. 😝
 
Shortcuts . . . that makes sense! Although I’ve seen “easy hacks” 😜

(being an old fogey, I prefer “easy” )
 
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TigerLily-1 said:
Another word I see that’s acquired a newer meaning I don’t quite understand is the word hack. E.g, 10 easy hacks you can make in your kitchen. ⛏️ Huh?!
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There are two online dictionaries that I have learned to rely on, but this time they have both let me down badly. In the meantime, I see that Pìanist Clare has answered your question. Merriam Webster and Oxford Dictionaries could both use some knowledgeable people like Pianist Clare!


 
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Thank you for trying to track down the meaning. Like you, I have tried online dictionaries and have run into the same problem you did. The dictionaries are not “trendy” enough!

The good news is: we’ve both learned 2 new things today. 😀
 
When the dictionary definition doesn’t seem to be quite making sense, always give the Urban Dictionary a try. Not every word is used in every way by everyone in every place— but it can help you with words that are being used in an unfamiliar way, especially when the usual dictionaries aren’t keeping up with current nuance.

So like “kitchen hacks” is going to be an annoying one. Normally, a hacker is someone who uses their mad 1337 skillz to do stuff to computers that mere mortals normally can’t do. 😉 But in the last ten years or so, it started taking on a MacGyver-ish connotation, in being able to solve ordinary problems in unexpected ways with things you might have lying around the house. So it took the “mad 1337 skillz” part of the computer genius hacker, and dropped the computer genius part of the hacker, and turned the word into a term used for a problem solver. I’m personally not really fond of that usage, since it’s over-used to the point of losing its meaning… I prefer “tips and tricks” rather than “hacks”. 🙂
 
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