snuff

Not as good as what was expected, required, or demanded; not satisfactory or adequate. Jim, I know you've been going through a tough time since your wife passed, but these reports just aren't up to snuff. I used to eat there all the time, but to be honest, their food hasn't been up to snuff recently.

A film that shows the actual murder or death of a person. Although snuff films are illegal, they are still widely circulated on the black market.

Fig. not adequate. Sorry, your paper isn't up to scratch. Please do it over again. The performance was not up to snuff.

Sl. to kill someone. Max really wanted to snuff the eyewiteness out, once and for all. Lefty wanted to snuff out his partner.

to extinguish something, such as a flame. she snuffed all the candles out and went to bed. Karen snuffed out the flames one by one.

Fig. as good as the standard or average; up to standard. I'm just not feeling up to par today. I must be coming down with something. The manager said that the report was not up to par and gave it back to Mary to do over again.

Fig. as good as is required; meeting the minimum requirements. Sorry, Tom. Your performance isn't up to snuff. You'll have to improve or find another job. My paper wasn't up to scratch, so I got an F.

at the usual or expected standard up to the mark When your work is up to par we can review your salary again. Are your computer skills up to par?

at an acceptable standard or quality We're giving him a week to bring the team up to scratch.

to put an end to something The bomber triggered his explosion and snuffed out the lives of 167 innocent people in that building. Before he could reach the top in his career, a scandal almost snuffed it out.

at or to an acceptable level of quality We have a part in designing and manufacturing products and then checking to make sure they're up to snuff. Utah's bridges are in trouble, and it would cost $88 million to bring the worst cases up to snuff.

a film that is intended to be sexually exciting which shows a person being murdered In May '92 he was arrested and charged with importing snuff movies into the country.

if someone or something is up to snuff, they are of an acceptable standard or quality (often negative) Their wine-list is very good but I'm afraid the food isn't really up to snuff. The police force is replacing its older patrol cars to make sure they all come up to snuff. We have spent a tremendous amount of money bringing the department up to snuff.

Also, up to scratch or snuff or speed or the mark . Satisfactory, up to a given standard, as in She didn't feel up to par today so she stayed home, or I'm sure he'll come up to scratch when the time comes, or She's up to snuff again. Nearly all the versions of this idiom come from sports, par from golf, scratch and mark from boxing (after being knocked down a fighter had eight seconds to make his way to a mark scratched in the center of the ring), and speed from racing. However, the allusion in the variant with snuff, which dates from the early 1800s, has been lost.

Meets the standards. In the days of bare-knuckle fighting, bouts took place within a large circle drawn on the bare ground (that's where the phrase “boxing ring” came from). The contest began with the fighters facing off while standing on either side of a line scratched on the dirt in the middle of the ring. A fighter who was physically and mentally ready to take part stood at the line and was, therefore, up to scratch. “Up to snuff ” has much the same meaning. Powdered tobacco was said to sharpen the user's mind, so if you were up to snuff, you were mentally and also physically ready to go.