BLUFF
What does "BLUFF" mean?
To deceive someone by pretending to be more confident or capable than you are.
Meanings
- To try to mislead someone by a show of strength, confidence, or false intent. He had no winning hand, so he tried to bluff his way through.
- An act of bluffing; a pretense meant to intimidate or mislead. I called his bluff and he folded immediately.
- A steep cliff, bank, or headland, especially overlooking water. The house stood on a bluff above the river.
- Direct and good-naturedly blunt in manner. The captain was a bluff, hearty man who said exactly what he thought. formal
Word origin
The geographic sense comes from Dutch 'blaf' meaning broad or flat; the card-playing sense of deceiving entered American English in the 19th century from Dutch 'bluffen', to brag or boast.
Remember it
BLUFF ends in a double-F bluff like a cliff edge - and bluffing is walking right up to that edge with a straight face.
A little poem
He held a losing hand without a flinch -
the truth stood at the cliff and gave an inch.
couplet
Wordplay
- The poker player built his house on a bluff - fittingly, the whole thing was about to collapse.
What it teaches
A bluff only works until someone calls it - confidence is rented, never owned.
Quick facts
What does BLUFF mean?
To deceive someone by pretending to be more confident or capable than you are.
Is BLUFF a valid word?
Yes — BLUFF is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is BLUFF?
BLUFF has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does BLUFF come from?
The geographic sense comes from Dutch 'blaf' meaning broad or flat; the card-playing sense of deceiving entered American English in the 19th century from Dutch 'bluffen', to brag or boast.
What can BLUFF teach us?
A bluff only works until someone calls it - confidence is rented, never owned.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.