Posted by Jon on April 14, 2005 at 12:52:35 from 151.121.50.1 user Jon.
In Reply to: Re: DUFFER - in "Sands" posted by Peter H on April 14, 2005 at 11:03:17:
Normally, the noun would be derived from the verb describing the activity, e.g. "golfer", one who golfs, "sailor", one who sails. In this case, the chronology suggests that the noun existed first and the verb, "to duff", was derived from the agent-noun "duffer" in the reverse of the usual practice.