riff

Etymology 1

Uncertain. Perhaps a clipping of riffle, or an alteration of refrain.

noun

1. A repeated instrumental melody line in a song.
   Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child has been named the greatest guitar riff of all time, 41 years after it was recorded, in a poll by website Music Radar. November 27, 2009, “Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child has 'best guitar riff'”, in BBC
   Listen to one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time!
2. A clever or witty remark.
   Pope Francis delivers off-the-cuff riff on family life September 27, 2015, “Pope Francis delivers off-the-cuff riff on family life”, in USA Today
3. A variation on something.
   Both the Orbit and the Pinnacle are riffs on an idea sketched out in 1917 by Vladimir Tatlin for a monument to international communism. 2012, The Economist, London Skyline: Tower Power
4. A spoof.
   The creative team has experience with spoofing: Both [Paul] Rudd and [Amy] Poehler had parts in [David] Wain’s Wet Hot American Summer, a hysterically irreverent riff on ’80s summer-camp comedies. 26 June 2014, A. A. Dowd, “Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler Spoof Rom-com Clichés in They Came Together”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2017-12-07

verb

1. To improvise in the performance or practice of an art, especially by expanding on or making novel use of traditional themes.
   She riffed on the Olympic judges, the bobsled team, then ad-libbed with a woman drinking a martini at the front table. 2006, Janet Tashjian, Fault Line: A Novel
   They were great architects deeply enmeshed in an urban chain of innovation; Wright riffed on Sullivan's idea of form following function, and Sullivan riffed on Jenney, and Jenney relied on the fireproofing innovations of Peter B. Wight. 2011, Edward Glaeser, Triumph of the City
   For Holyoake a strategic advantage of his newly coined label was the way it riffed on the term 'secular' in the Western Christian imaginary. 2014, Johann P. Arnason, Religion and Politics: European and Global Perspectives, page 59
   He riffed an upward arpeggio and in a smooth, slightly neutered baritone began singing “Baby Face.” 2014, Edward Stewart, Privileged Lives
   In particular, Ralph Breaks The Internet riffs a lot on its enormous parent company, from that princess bit to the Sterling Holloway tone that new good-luck charm Alan Tudyk brings to his vocal performance to a goof on the de facto parenting advice that’s at the heart of so many Pixar movies. 14 November 2018, Jesse Hassenger, “Disney Goes Viral with an Ambitious, Overstuffed Wreck-It Ralph Sequel”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2019-11-21
2. To riffle.
   He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a wellworn deck of cards. He hated Saturday duty. He cut the deck and riffed the two halves together. 2010, Michael Flynn, In the Country of the Blind
   He was gracious enough to thank her, and briefly riffed through the pages before putting it in his briefcase. 2012, Jane Roberts, Triple Challenge: '69 to '70, page 173
   The man reached inside a pocket of the black broadcloth coat he'd draped over the back of his chair and withdrew a deck of cards, which he fanned in one hand, then bent back and riffed rapidly into the palm of his other. 2014, Miles Swarthout, The Last Shootist

Etymology 2

From Middle English *rif (found only in midrif), from Old English hrif (“the belly; womb”), from Proto-West Germanic *hrif, from Proto-Germanic *hrefaz (“body; torso; belly”), from Proto-Indo-European *krep- (“body”). Distant doublet of corpus, corpse, and corse.

noun

1. (anatomy, archaic) The belly; the bowels.