Skiffy

//ˈskɪfi// noun, slang

noun, slang ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Low-quality science fiction. derogatory, humorous, slang, uncountable, usually

    "The science fiction reader sneers at fake SF, artificially produced film tie-in novels and stories, most SF films, most TV SF. This he calls sci-fi (or "skiffy")—junk no right-thinking omnivore or chronic should read, watch, or support."

Example

More examples

"The science fiction reader sneers at fake SF, artificially produced film tie-in novels and stories, most SF films, most TV SF. This he calls sci-fi (or "skiffy")—junk no right-thinking omnivore or chronic should read, watch, or support."

Etymology

A phonetic spelling of sci-fi to convey its deliberate mispronunciation (with "sc" being read as /sk/ and "i" being read as short vowel /i/ instead of diphthong /aɪ/).

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.