1. To hit, punch. A nursery variant of biff,

occasionally used semi-facetiously by adults.

2. To have sex (with), fuck

'"He's a logical choice".

"So the fact he's boffing her has nothing to do with it?"' (Vice Versa, US film, 1986)

The term boff came to temporary prominence in Britain in 1974 when newspapers reported it as current among the upper-class set of which Lord Lucan (fugi- tive and alleged murderer) was a member. This gentle-sounding word, with its suggestions of 'puff', 'buff' and 'buffer', next appeared as a convenient euphemism employed in US TV series, such as Soap, of the late 1970s and 1980s, where verisimilitude would demand a more brusque alternative. It is unclear whether the word is American or British in origin or a simultaneous coinage. It may derive from its nursery sense of 'to hit'.