riff
verbEtymology Uncertain. Perhaps a clipping of riffle, or an alteration of refrain.
1
To improvise in the performance or practice of an art, especially by expanding on or making novel use of traditional themes.
- She riffed on the Olympic judges, the bobsled team, then ad-libbed with a woman drinking a martini at the front table.2006, Janet Tashjian, Fault Line: A Novel, →ISBN:
- They were great architects deeply enmeshed in an urban chain of innovation; Wright riffed on Sullivan's idea of form following function, and Sullivan riffed on Jenney, and Jenney relied on the fireproofing innovations of Peter B. Wight.2011, Edward Glaeser, Triumph of the City, →ISBN:
3 more examples
- For Holyoake a strategic advantage of his newly coined label was the way it riffed on the term 'secular' in the Western Christian imaginary.2014, Johann P. Arnason, Religion and Politics: European and Global Perspectives, →ISBN, page 59:
- He riffed an upward arpeggio and in a smooth, slightly neutered baritone began singing “Baby Face.”2014, Edward Stewart, Privileged Lives, →ISBN:
- In particular, Ralph Breaks The Internet riffs a lot on its enormous parent company, from that princess bit to the Sterling Holloway tone that new good-luck charm Alan Tudyk brings to his vocal performance to a goof on the de facto parenting advice that’s at the heart of so many Pixar movies.2018 November 14, Jesse Hassenger, “Disney Goes Viral with an Ambitious, Overstuffed Wreck-It Ralph Sequel”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 21 Nov 2019:
2
To riffle.
- He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a wellworn deck of cards. He hated Saturday duty. He cut the deck and riffed the two halves together.2010, Michael Flynn, In the Country of the Blind, →ISBN:
- He was gracious enough to thank her, and briefly riffed through the pages before putting it in his briefcase.2012, Jane Roberts, Triple Challenge: '69 to '70, →ISBN, page 173:
1 more example
- The man reached inside a pocket of the black broadcloth coat he'd draped over the back of his chair and withdrew a deck of cards, which he fanned in one hand, then bent back and riffed rapidly into the palm of his other.2014, Miles Swarthout, The Last Shootist, →ISBN:
3
To tell jokes over a movie or similar performance.
- Most MSTers confine their "riffing" to original fan fiction rather than scripts from corporate-owned entertainment properties, which renders such twice-removed MSTing somewhat toothless: the cannibalizing parody of a pastiche.2014 January 10, Robert G. Weiner, Shelley E. Barba, In the Peanut Gallery with Mystery Science Theater 3000: Essays on Film, Fandom, Technology and the Culture of Riffing, McFarland, →ISBN, page 126:
- A bad sci-fi movie is often ludicrous and silly and ripe for riffing. A bad comedy is usually just dull.2015 January 27, Chris Morgan, The Comic Galaxy of Mystery Science Theater 3000: Twelve Classic Episodes and the Movies They Lampoon, McFarland, →ISBN, page 34: