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Selling woof tickets

Posted by ESC on December 04, 2001

In Reply to: Africa-America phrase posted by Kim Soon on December 04, 2001

: I am still learn English. This phrase is from a book. It is something sayed by Africa-America man. The phrase is on page "he is jes' woofin', dat's all". Three of these words are not in dictionery. What is phrase mean? Thank you for help.

He is just woofing, that's all. "Woofing" or "selling wolf tickets" is another way of saying you're bluffing someone.

WOOF - "To threaten by using boastful, strong language." WOOF TICKET - "A verbal threat, which one sells to somebody; may or may not be real." Black Talk: Words and Phrases from the Hood to the Amen Corner by Geneva Smitherman (Houghton Mifflin Co., New York, N.Y., 1994)

I'm guessing that woof is either from the animal (wolf) or from a dog's bark.

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