reef

v. to use (excessive) force, especially when hitting, pulling, or twisting (on something). Subjects: English, Colloquial

Editorial Note: Jonathon Green’s Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang has a related definition, “to gouge out, to attack, to remove forcibly” and has marked it as Irish, but the citations below demonstrate that this word is used throughout the Anglophone world. Macquarie Dictionary has a definition of reef “(of a horse) to throw its head up, thereby pulling against the reins” but the written record indicates that the rider can also reef on the horse. Thanks to Orion Montoya for suggesting today’s word.

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Citations: 1978 Bob Rife Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada) (June 28) “One good turn deserves another” p. P33: I barely had time to begin gathering line before it tail-danced toward a deep hole. The bass chugged down, but I reefed it back up. 1982 Beverley Smith Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada) (June 28) “It was all hollering and hoots for Souter” p. S5: Son of Briartic started cranking his head sideways during the stretch run. “All those people were there.…But I was reefing on him. He responded well.” 1990 [Terry A. Turner] Usenet: alt.fishing (Apr. 16) “Willamette River (Or.) Chinook Report”: When the fish hit, his mind went blank. I am urging him to “reef on it” to set the hook which he finally did and struggled the rod out of the holder. 1990 [Joe Diederichs] Usenet: rec.models.rc (July 20) “Concept comments and questions”: I spun the clutch with my electric starter when I first got the machine. When I went in to tighten it up, I used a dowel in the carb throat and really reefed on it. This may have caused the fan to distort and result in the runout. 1993 Ron Judd Seattle Times (Washington) (Oct. 28) “Trip’s Humor Lost With Reporter’s Cherished Rod” p. C7: I failed to understand it a bit later, when I hooked the bottom of the lake. To me, reefing and reefing and reefing on my Very Expensive graphite rod was fairly serious business. To her, it was a good belly laugh. Especially when I reefed so hard that the rod snapped. 1994 [Chris Garvin] Usenet: alt.locksmithing (Mar. 7) “Re: re:CARS”: I believe you _can_ shear those brass pins if you put a set of vice-grips on the end of your screwdriver and really “reef” on it. 1996 Nicola Tallant Mirror (Oct. 11) “It’s time I was put out to greys” p. 6: I got my first grey hair yesterday. It was reefed without mercy from its root. 1999 [C3hammer] Usenet: rec.motorcycles.dirt (Dec. 22) “Re: Ride report—Finally back on the bike!”: My radius bone was broken into about 15 pieces right at the joint.…Ice it after each and every time you reef on it. You can’t see the swelling / inflammation, but its there. 2000 [Cam] Usenet: rec.sport.snowmobiles (Dec. 9) “AC Front Arm Adjust”: The suspension seems very stiff to me…and the adjuster turns with no resistance, about 4 or 5 turns, then seems to bottom out and not turn any firther (I haven’t tried really reefing on it yet…I don’t want to wreck anything on this monster). 2001 [David F. Eisan] Usenet: rec.woodworking (June 1) “Re: Gluing up a table top. Can anybody please advise?”: Use F-clamps, two per caul, one for each end of a pair of cauls. Snug these clamps down, don’t reef on them, just moderate pressure. 2001 Patrick Smith Australian (Oct. 18) “Bold Ha Ha fails champion test” p. 18: Babe Zaharias is a dark brown filly with a pauper’s life-time earnings. She stood in box No.76 reefing at the leads that held her head up and away from the straw. 2002 Mag Ruffman Toronto Star (Canada) (Oct. 31) “Say cheese, then get scrubbing—How to put words to your dishwasher woes” p. L05: Fittings: An ironic term describing plumbing parts that don’t fit together no matter how hard you reef on them. 2003 Corky Scott Usenet: rec.aviation.homebuilt (Nov. 7) “Re: Why do you buy Snap-on tools?”: My father in law told me about returning a huge socket he broke when he reefed on it using a six foot cheater pipe.…My father in law asked him if he didn’t want to hear how he broke it, thinking that his use of excessive force would negate the warranty. 2005 [aether_jockey] Reflections from the Glass Floor (Canada) (Apr. 25) “I Lose Again”: So I reefed on it, and he reefed back. There was a lot of reefing. He was surprisingly strong, and was pulling against my banged-up left hand with all his fury, and I was mortified to discover I was spending a Friday night wrestling with a hamster. 2006 Cilogear Makes Packs (New York City) (July 5) “Prototypes, Production and the End of the Road”: Hauled it up the route 3x, once yarding it through the chimney up top (the other times i swung it onto the face). pack got hung up on a couple of the overlaps, but i just reefed on it rather than being gentle.

Posted 14 Aug 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

does this come from sailing? “reefing in the sail” sounds familiar.

by Konrad Schroth 15 Aug 06, 0342 GMT

That’s a different kind of “reef,” as far as I can tell, and since it’s in every dictionary I checked, it did not warrant inclusion here.

by Grant Barrett 15 Aug 06, 0349 GMT

Our guest horticuluralist at the Arboretum where I work,gave a demo at our volunteer work party on Saturday.
Reef. She used this word to explain how not to use the tool. She explained “avoid reefing the tool”. “Using the tool effectively will be more efficient and save wear and tear on the body.”
I had never heard this expression before. My guest is orgininally from New England. I was exploring the inet for more info on this for the article I am writting on this work party.
Incidently, the weed we worked on removing is
Yellow Archangel;
Lamiastrum galeobdolon (Mint Family) a noxious weed in King County of Washington State.

by Claire Hendrickson 13 Jan 09, 0739 GMT