the.com/tiff
A fight too small for therapy, too big to ignore at dinner.
means A brief, petty quarrel between people who otherwise like each other just fine.
from Appeared in English in the 1700s, likely echoing the sharp little sound of irritation itself — a puff of breath, a sniff of annoyance. No tidy ancestor word has been nailed down, and dictionaries generally mark it 'origin uncertain' rather than hand you a tidier tale. One old guess ties it to 'tiff' meaning a sip or small draught of liquor, as if a quarrel were just a small dose of temper — possible, but unproven.
- origin
- 18th century, meant a sudden fit of temper
- scale
- smaller than a feud, louder than a sulk
- duration
- usually resolved by bedtime or dessert
- relationship test
- the ones who tiff well last longest