Definition of "riff" []

• Music A short rhythmic phrase, especially one that is repeated in improvisation. (noun)
• A clever or inventive commentary or remark: "Those little riffs that had seemed to have such sparkle over drinks ... look all too embarrassing in cold print” ( John Richardson). (noun)
• To play or make riffs. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Thanks to technological acceleration, John Cage jokes are rapidly approaching their sell-by date (remember when 4'33 was this wild, crazy cult thing that nobody knew about?), but this riff is a worthy entry in the pantheon."
• "Teabagger riff is old, and “bigot” says more about the speaker."
• "They slammed into the main riff (sort of a sped up version of "Spoonful") with a frantic and almost desperate ferocity."