Spoof

/spuːf/ · noun

Meaning

(countable) An act of deception; a hoax; a joking prank..

Definitions by Sense

1. (countable) An act of deception; a hoax; a joking prank.
2. (countable) A light parody.
3. (countable, British, historical) 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.
4. (uncountable) Nonsense.
5. Fake, hoax.
6. (transitive) To gently satirize.
7. (transitive) To deceive.
8. (ambitransitive, computing) To falsify; especially, to falsify identities by impersonating for scamming purposes.

Example Sentences

“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.’[…]”

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.

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.

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.

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."

His most recent art project, 'Consuming Desire', explored men's relationship with pornography, using invisible art strategies (a spoof sex shop and a spoof porn CD-ROM), media interventions (TV/radio and press exposure), and therapeutic work with men addicted to pornography.

Despite appearances, Hajime Furukawa's wacky I Don't Like Friday was never aimed at children, but ran as a spoof sex-education English course in Business Jump.

Her [Jean Harlow's] best film is generally considered to be Bombshell (1933), in which she spoofed her own career as a Hollywood sex goddess.

Synonyms for spoof

Antonyms for spoof

Related Words

Word Forms

• spoofs
• spoofing
• spoofed

Usage Notes

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