Phrase guide

Mutt and Jeff

adj · name · noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Deaf.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Cockney, comparable, slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

Names given to a pair of companions, usually male, of whom one is tall and the other short.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, plural, plural-only, slang

Examples

  • 1962, "Facial Farceur" (film review of A Matter of WHO), Time, 10 Aug., The bowler-hatted Terry-Thomas and Cooper's gangling American business partner (Alex Nicol) team up, Mutt-and-Jeff fashion.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Synonym of good cop bad cop.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: good cop bad cop

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From characters in a comic strip by U.S. cartoonist Harry Conway ("Bud") Fisher, first published in 1908.