{"id":4685,"date":"2022-06-24T20:08:18","date_gmt":"2022-06-24T20:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=4685"},"modified":"2022-06-24T20:08:18","modified_gmt":"2022-06-24T20:08:18","slug":"heffer-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/heffer-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Heffer \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did one of your friends just point at a heavy-set woman and call her a \u201cHeffer<\/em>?\u201d What does the word mean? This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n

Meaning<\/h2>\n

The expression \u201cHeffer<\/em>\u201d also goes by the spelling \u201cHeffa<\/em>.\u201d The word is a derogatory expression referring to large women with a high Body Mass Index (BMI). Typically, the woman will have a BMI in the obese range, over a reading of 30 on the scale.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The saying can also refer to a young woman on the verge of obesity due to her poor lifestyle habits and dietary choices. Men are the primary users of the term, and they use it to describe women they find fat and repulsive.<\/p>\n

Heffer <\/em>is a form of body shaming, and it\u2019s no longer acceptable to use the expression online on platforms like Twitter. Doing so could land you in trouble with the \u201cwoke\u201d mob.<\/p>\n

Example Usage<\/h2>\n

\u201cLook at that fattie over there by the bar. Man, she must weigh 300 pounds. What a Heffer. I bet you\u2019re into that thing, right, Mike?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSamantha got mad at me after insulting me, and I called her a Heffer. She burst into tears and asked me how I could be so cruel to her. I feel kind of bad about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever said marriage is bliss didn\u2019t have to marry a Heffer. After we married, my wife got so fat that I can\u2019t stand to look at her anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat girl over there is a proper Heffer. She has the biggest muffin top I\u2019ve ever seen, and man, look at those cankles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you go with a Heffer, you never go back. I suppose some guys are into that sort of thing. It takes all kinds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Heffers are the best. They are so eager to please you, and you can get them to do anything you want in bed.\"<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

Origin<\/h2>\n

The expression \u201cHeffer\u201d originates from the word \u201cheifer,\u201d a term for a female cow that\u2019s not yet pregnant. Since some people in society choose to call fat women \u201ccows,\u201d \u201cHeffer\u201d is another synonym for an overweight woman.<\/p>\n

Men were using the term \u201cHeifer\u201d to describe overweight women as far back as 1835. However, the word changed to \u201cHeffer\u201d sometime in the early 2000s. There are some instances of the word being spelled as \u201cHeffa.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first appearance of the spelling \u201cHeffer,\u201d appeared in the Urban Dictionary in 2003. A user, \u201cJimbob,\u201d uploaded the definition to the platform. Since it has become the subject of many internet memes of fat women.<\/p>\n

However, during the late 2010s, the \u201cbody positive\u201d movement would label the use of the word \u201cHeffer\u201d as hate speech and body shaming toward fat people. As a result, people using the term online experienced backlash, and it's not used as much as it was a decade ago.<\/p>\n