Two players were playing a chess game. One play voiced "it looks ominous" after playing a move that he thought was brilliant. The other player responded "riffing".
What does the verb, to riff, or the adjective, riffing, mean in this context ?
Was it used more similar to "gloating", "babbling" or something else ?
Or was it a typo ?
Merriam-Webster only has the following two definitions for the verb to riff, and neither seems fitting in this context.
1.to perform, deliver, or make use of a riff
2.to riffle, skim
Best Answer
Riffing means improvising.
Riffing, or to riff, comes from music, specifically:
In the example, the second speaker is contrasting the first (saying the opposite):
Another example outside of music would be the phrase:
See examples of this usage on Open Culture, the New Yorker, The Christian Science Monitor, and many others.
Robin Williams was a famous American comedian who was famous for his improvising, and there are tons of articles online about him riffing with other comedians or at live events.