chaff

chaff ¹  (chf)

n.

1. Botany Thin dry bracts or scales, especially:

a. The dry bracts enclosing mature grains of wheat and some other cereal grasses, removed during threshing.

b. The scales or bracts borne on the receptacle among the small individual flowers of many plants in the composite family.

2. Finely cut straw or hay used as fodder.

3. Trivial or worthless matter: ignored the picky, unimportant criticisms that were just a lot of chaff.

4. Strips of metal, foil, or glass fiber with a metal content, cut into various lengths and having varying frequency responses, that are used to reflect electromagnetic energy as a radar countermeasure. These materials, usually dropped from aircraft, also can be deployed from shells or rockets.

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[Middle English chaf, from Old English ceaf.]

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chaffy adj.

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chaff ²  (chf)

v. chaffed, chaff·ing, chaffs

v.tr.

To make fun of in a good-natured way; tease.

v.intr.

To engage in playful teasing. See Synonyms at banter.

n.

Good-natured teasing; banter.

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[Possibly alteration of chafe or chaff.]

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chaff ¹

Noun

1. grain husks separated from the seeds during threshing

2. something of little worth; rubbish: you had to be a very perceptive listener to sort the wheat from the chaff of his discourse [Old English ceaf]

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chaff ²

Verb

to tease good-naturedly [probably slang variant of chafe]

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Radar confusion reflectors, consisting of thin, narrow metallic strips of various lengths and frequency responses, which are used to reflect echoes for confusion purposes. Causes enemy radar guided missiles to lock on to it instead of the real aircraft, ship, or other platform. See also deception; rope.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	chaff - material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds husk, shuck, stalk, stubble, straw bran - broken husks of the seeds of cereal grains that are separated from the flour by sifting plant material, plant substance - material derived from plants
	2.	chaff - foil in thin strips; ejected into the air as a radar countermeasure foil - a piece of thin and flexible sheet metal; "the photographic film was wrapped in foil"
Verb	1.	chaff - be silly or tease one another; "After we relaxed, we just kidded around" banter, jolly, josh, kid bait, tantalise, tantalize, taunt, razz, twit, tease, cod, rag, rally, ride - harass with persistent criticism or carping; "The children teased the new teacher"; "Don't ride me so hard over my failure"; "His fellow workers razzed him when he wore a jacket and tie"

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chaff

noun husks, remains, refuse, waste, hulls, rubbish, trash, dregs