Attendees of this international Tdot film fest often refer to themselves as “I am Tiffing.” Since this year’s opening flick is on Charles Darwin, let’s root into the true origin of the word “TIFF”…
Tiff is slang. Many believe it’s based in the word family of ”pontiff” (circa 1610). “Pontiff” is latin for “bridge builder” and was bestowed as a title to high priests. In 1825, the verb to “pontificate” appeared and originally meant to “issue dogmatic decrees.” So by this logic, back in the land of yesterfar when people hiply shortened the word to “tiff”, they were really referring to some arrogant Italian dude in a robe, who is standing on a bridge, making up laws.
However this week in 2009 it means red carpets and George Clooney. So happy TIFF-ing y’all.
XO word geek
FYI Tiff is also used to refer to:
- Tiff, Missouri, United States
- Tiff (mineral), a mineral consisting of barium sulfate
- Tiff, a verbal argument
The acronym TIFF can mean:
- Tagged Image File Format (TIFF), a computer file format for storing images, including photographs and line art.
- Tooth Interior Fatigue Fracture (TIFF), a type of gear failure
Toronto is not alone! Other film festivals abbreviated to TIFF:
- Thessaloniki International Film Festival, an annual film festival held in Thessaloniki, Greece and established in 1960.
- Tokyo International Film Festival, a film festival held in Tokyo, Japan and established in 1985.
- Tromsø International Film Festival, an annual film festival held in Tromsø, Norway and established in 1991.
- Transilvania International Film Festival (spelled Transylvania in English), a film festival held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and established in 2001
- Toronto International Film Festival, a film festival held in Toronto, Canada and known originally as “The Festival of Festivals” founded in 1976.
