Beefing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Expressing dissatisfaction or complaining about something ; increasing physical strength or muscle mass
2. Making a verbal complaint or engaging in an argument ; enhancing muscular development through exercise or supplements
3. Raising objections or having a dispute with someone ; building up bodily power or size by training

Etymology: The verb "beefing" is an alternative form of "biffin", a word that once named a kind of apple. Biffins were apples dried and pressed flat, and the name is possibly from "beef", because of their red colour. Their dried, reddish flesh is the link to the modern sense of complaining loudly, and the word reached that meaning through a chain of slang that is not fully traced. That slang sense, "to complain loudly", is the one a reader is most likely to meet today. The source does not record how the apple name became a word for protest, so any account of that step would be guesswork, and it is best left there. What can be said is that "beefing" shares its origin with "biffin", and the two forms are the same word spelled differently.

Synonyms: complaining, grumbling

Antonyms: praising, applauding