Where Did the Term ‘Up to Snuff’ Originate?
By the 1800s , snuff — powderize , normally snort - able tobacco — had become such a long - standing societal fixity in the UK and U.S. that phrases started popping up around the news itself . To outfox to snuff , forinstance , imply to practiced your opposite so thoroughly that you figuratively cut them to powderise . In high snuff , meanwhile , described someone in high-pitched spirits ( maybe a nod to the buzz you ’d get after usingtobacco ) ....