What it means
A howff is your regular spot, the place you naturally drift back to without making a big song and dance of it. Most often it's a pub, but it can be any wee haunt you use all the time, where folk know your face and your pals already guess you'll be there. Also spelled howf.
Usage examples
"We'll start in our usual howff, grab a wee pint, then wander up the Royal Mile and see which other howffs are still buzzing."
"Fancy a pint at the usual howff after work, same corner table as always?"
"That wee cafe became my howff during the exams, I practically lived there."
"Aye, don't bother texting everybody, if Jamie's out he'll be in his howff by half eight."
"This old bar's been her howff for years, staff already start pouring when they see her coat at the door."
Where it comes from
Howff is a Scots word, often traced back to Dutch hof, meaning a court or enclosed space. In Scots it shifted over time into the sense of a familiar meeting place or favourite haunt, especially a pub, the sort of spot where your seat almost feels reserved by fate.
Other ways to say it
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