1. A BSD utility that issues a signal when new mail has arrived. Biff was named after a University of California graduate student’s dog who had a habit of barking at the mailman at the time the utility was developed. 2. See B1FF.

Short for Binary Interchange File Format. The native file format used by Microsoft Excel.
Slang for a new online user who is prone to making mistakes in e-mail, newsgroup articles, or chats that show his or her inexperience. Examples of typical mistakes made by B1FFs include sentences ending with multiple exclamation points (!!!!) and messages typed in ALL CAPS. Although it’s spelled B-1(one)-F-F, the term is pronounced “bif.”

Whack, blow

To provide notification of new (incoming) e-mail.