Would you like to tell someone that the standard of something is to be measured, or would you like to compare two things against one another by their general quality or appearance to decide which is the best? The term 'up to snuff' is a common expression that can be used for this. This post looks at the meaning and origin of this term.<\/p>\n
The phrase 'up to snuff' is a common expression that can be used to mean that two (or more) things are being compared to find one that is better or superior to the other. <\/u><\/p>\n
The term 'up to snuff' can be used to describe physical objects, but can also be used in the description of immaterial things, emotions or issues that have to be discussed.<\/p>\n
When something is good as an idea, a concept or a physical thing, it can be said to 'be up to snuff'.<\/p>\n
The phrase can also be used to deny that something is a good concept or thing by just saying that something is 'not up to snuff' or thus of a lower standard.<\/p>\n
'Up to snuff' is a common means of comparison that can be used to say that something is either good or not. The issue or thing can be stated, but can also be assumed to be understood by the rest of the context behind what has been said.<\/p>\n
There is no plural use for this expression or term, and something is never described as being 'up to snuffs' as 'snuff' is a singular concept.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were married for three years before they decided to go and get a divorce. I guess she decided that his efforts just weren't up to snuff or something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you're going to out and buy oranges, then you had better make sure that they're up to snuff compared to what everyone else in town is putting on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you aren't sure whether you should call the first company or the second, read some of their reviews just to see which one of them is up to snuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf your baseball game isn't up to snuff compared to the rest of the team, then you should know that they're probably going to kick your ass halfway through the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phrase 'up to snuff' is likely to have been part of common speech (as a means of comparison between two things) since at least the 1700s, when the use of powdered tobacco \u2013 called 'snuff' \u2013 was at an all-time historical height.<\/p>\n
When it first appeared as a saying, the meaning was more literal, as something considered 'up to snuff' would have been said to be the same as high-quality powdered tobacco.<\/p>\n
After the spread of snuff throughout most of the world, the phrase 'up to snuff' became more popular and the term was soon included in several books from the 1700s on. This gave rise to the eventual meaning and heightened popularity of the term.<\/p>\n
The term was later recorded in dictionaries from the 1800s, by which time the term adopted the figurative, comparison meaning.<\/p>\n
Use of the term in popular fiction would cause the term to spread further, and access to social media is likely to have further increased the use of the phrase.<\/p>\n
There are several ways in which someone can use the term 'up to snuff' in the wrong way, or misunderstand the meaning of the term.<\/p>\n
Someone cannot say that something is (or is not) up to 'snuffs' as there is no acceptable plural for a singular 'snuff' in this expression.<\/p>\n
The phrase 'up to snuff' is one that is most commonly used to describe things that are (or are not) up to standard.<\/p>\n
Something that is 'not up to snuff' is considered to be of a lowered quality than its comparison, which is said or implied.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Would you like to tell someone that the standard of something is to be measured, or would you like to compare two things against one another by their general quality or appearance to decide which is the best? The term 'up to snuff' is a common expression that can be used for this. This post […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9344"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9344"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9346,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9344\/revisions\/9346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}