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The Kitchen Table

Phrase of the day 4/23

jim_1 (Zone 5B)

5 years ago

Up to snuff

Originally, the expression up to snuff meant “sharp, keen, wise, all-knowing.” Presumably it got this meaning because a person who has just sniffed some snuff would have a brief sense of exhilaration and might feel that he was a lot brighter than other people. Gradually the term came to be applied more and more to a person’s physical condition. If you feel up to snuff nowadays, you feel that you’re in good shape, in normal good health.

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Comments (2)

Annie Deighnaugh
5 years ago
And for those of us who didn't know:

Snuff is a smokeless tobacco made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves. It is inhaled or "snuffed" into the nasal cavity, delivering a swift hit of nicotine and a lasting flavoured scent (especially if flavouring has been blended with the tobacco).

Was that the same as "take a powder"? Or was the powder something else?
raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
5 years ago
I used to think that take a powder was about the early forms of aspirin (which was powder) but that makes no sense at all - it has to be something else.
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