| 释义 |
noun blʌfbləf An attempt to deceive someone into believing that one can or is going to do something. the offer was denounced as a bluff mass noun his game of bluff Example sentencesExamples - This over-reaction is of course a bluff, an attempt to silence opposition, almost suggesting that these practices, reprehensible to me, are necessary for secular democracy.
- Still, for a man who has a history of bluffs and mind games not just in the Tour but throughout the season, no-one will immediately rule him out here, in a race he has won two times before.
- They think the government is playing a game of bluff.
- His denunciation of my research is an audacious bluff, believable only by those who have never opened my book.
- Trouble is, the first bluff is a life strategy while the second bluff is a political convenience.
- The internet rumour mill has been working overtime, a game of bluff and counter-bluff spreading like a computer virus.
- It would be comforting to think he is playing no more than a game of bluff with the whisky companies, privately sharing their scepticism about strip stamps while forcing them to come up with a convincing alternative.
- It should be obvious why I badly want to believe that this is a bluff or a ruse.
- With limited resources and the inability to properly police such a vast area, the colonial authorities were playing little more than a game of bluff.
- But apart from bluffs, tricks, and mayhem, the coming year may be a boon for babies.
- She glanced off the platform and then back at him, hoping that he would believe her bluff and cough up the money.
- I was beginning to believe it had all been a big bluff…
- A last-minute offer may be a ruse or a bluff but I'm the guy who ought to make that call.
- How many games of double-and-triple bluff are going on here?
- The psychology of poker involves bluffing and detecting the bluffs of others.
- There are probably those who still believe that this is a bluff.
- The odds hadn't been in my favor as it seemed he was leading me on a series of bluffs and double-bluffs, but always keeping pace and never breaking the stare.
- We've seen lots of boasts and threats and feints and bluffs, but generally speaking organizations like this only resort to threats when they're not actually capable of real operations.
- They had informed him that my attempt was no bluff - it was not done to get attention - a half attempt.
- It is hard to read the auguries, so complex is this interplay of deception, self-deception, bluster and bluff.
Synonyms deception, subterfuge, pretence, sham, fake, show, deceit, false show, idle boast, feint, delusion, hoax, fraud, masquerade, charade trick, stratagem, ruse, manoeuvre, scheme, artifice, machination humbug, bluster, bombast, bragging Irish informal codology informal put-on, put-up job, kidology
verb blʌfbləf [no object]1Try to deceive someone as to one's abilities or intentions. he's been bluffing all along they bluffed their way past the sentries with object the object is to bluff your opponent into submission Example sentencesExamples - Both their livelihoods depend on the ability to bluff and sniff out fraud.
- Now it seems he may have been bluffing all along, thus the efficacy of such a coalition seems doubtful.
- We also take more risks than men give us credit for which means it can be very hard to tell when a woman is bluffing.
- He could have been bluffing, but we couldn't take that chance.
- ‘I might just google ‘my wife doesn't understand me’ and see what I get,’ I threatened, but I was bluffing.
- Furthermore, when I asked in the staffroom if the little horror was bluffing, I was told that in all likelihood, he was telling the truth.
- There was a magic revealed program on TV this weekend and I am sure that the magicians were bluffing with their revelations.
- And the truth is this: I was bluffing - I didn't know Rob's last name either.
- And they know you aren't bluffing because, well, they'd do the same, and they know you've backed yourself into a corner.
- But by bluffing and showing confidence and strength simply as a base attitude, I prevented anything getting out of hand.
- She'd read each one of them as they appeared - and she wasn't bluffing - she really knew them and thought about them a lot.
- Right up to the end the dictator who fooled the world was bluffing - even to his closest aides.
- By bluffing and faking, you have to somehow provoke and deceive this system of defense.
- I could get into their heads, so I knew if they were bluffing.
- Thankfully, I never discovered whether this gang of kids were bluffing or not because a strapping man who had been drinking in the pub opposite sauntered on to the street.
- However, it is entirely legal to try to mislead the opponents about your intentions by bluffing in the bidding, naming a contract completely different from the one you really want to play.
- What private assurance did he have from the French that they were bluffing about a veto, or, if he had none, who advised him that they were probably bluffing?
- Although my teacher certainly wasn't bluffing, I suspect we were both looking for the same thing: a cheap fix of escapism.
- I'm fairly sure she knew I was bluffing with a large part of my ‘history lesson’.
- That history, combined with his decision last week to give Congress more time to consider the transaction, has led some in Congress to conclude that he is bluffing and will give lots of ground.
Synonyms pretend, sham, fake, feign, put on an act, put it on, lie, hoax, pose, posture, masquerade, dissemble, dissimulate informal kid deceive, delude, mislead, trick, fool, hoodwink, dupe, hoax, take in, beguile, humbug, bamboozle, gull, cheat informal con, kid, put one over on, have on, pull the wool over someone's eyes vulgar slang bullshit archaic cozen - 1.1bluff it out Survive a difficult situation by maintaining a pretence.
there's no point in trying to bluff it out Example sentencesExamples - She had lied like a child and when interviewed, she persisted and bluffed it out even when told the professor had denied knowing her.
- Putting on an innocent look, and intent on bluffing it out he said, ‘What makes you say that?’
- Aware of his approach, we could only hold our breath and bluff it out.
- When challenged he tried to bluff it out by claiming it was his friend's house but a neighbour knew the occupants.
- But the teenager bluffed it out by claiming his date of birth was wrong on his call-up papers, which had been prepared ahead of his birthday.
- The ogre was going to play dead and bluff it out, but then he saw a female pointing toward him and the rest glancing his way.
- ‘There is no doubt that if he continues to live in west Belfast, life could be made very unpleasant for him, but given his past and his knowledge of internal security methods, he probably thinks he can bluff it out,’ the source said.
Phrases 1Challenge someone to carry out a stated intention, in the expectation of being able to expose it as a pretence. she was tempted to call his bluff, hardly believing he'd carry out his threat Example sentencesExamples - And it's about time someone from the conservative side of politics called their bluff.
- I think furiously, she's calling my bluff, I'll push even further
- And should it respond by accommodating its demands, or by calling its bluff?
- Over the past few weeks, the president has called their bluff.
- Just as the sailor will bring lively tales of adventure, he may also be able to ferret out falsehoods and call deceivers' bluffs, because he has gained wisdom from life's challenges and insights into human nature.
- Right or wrong, some of the guards called their bluff, and we can learn from that.
- Two idealistic activists, however, called his bluff.
- When anybody calls their bluff and punctures this self-delusion, they can only cope by insulting and vilifying their critics.
- I called his bluff, expecting him to laugh - to turn around and leave.
- For these emotions to work, they must have a kind of inevitability built into them, such that, when someone calls your bluff, you cannot avoid carrying out your promise or threat.
- In this case, the concerned students have called the publication 's bluff, pointing out that consideration for the larger community was not taken when the ‘back door’ article was produced.
- The bluff was called and it was game back on as players hastily deserted favourite watering holes.
- If you gave because you liked the site, or even just wanted to humiliate me by calling my bluff, you're free to leave it - but believe me, I would not fault you in the slightest for asking for your money back.
- In effect, where polluters had previously argued that emission control was too expensive, the new system called their bluff.
- He had called her bluff, and she had met his challenge head on.
- Transfolk, increasingly numerous, loud and proud, are calling our bluff.
- His premise is that Democrats are ‘aghast’ at the president's ‘new’ Social Security proposal because he ‘has finally called their bluff.’
- But now that we know people are doing this, it's time for us to start calling their bluff: You aren't really talking to anyone are you?
- Or, what if we called their bluff and didn't give them the money and see what happens then?
- In a very real sense, I think the big commercial publishers now are clearly calling our bluff.
2(in poker or brag) make an opponent show their hand in order to reveal that its value is weaker than their heavy betting suggests. Example sentencesExamples - There were two reasons why I called his bluff.
- I called his bluff correctly though and I ended up getting all the chips back off him and knocking him out so was all good in the end.
- One company has called the other's bluff and laid down on the table four Kings - four of a kind.
- When not daring an opponent to call his bluff, he seduced them.
- I'm just a little disappointed that it went this far to play poker and to have someone call your bluff.
Derivatives nounˈblʌfəˈbləfər To me he is false, a bluffer, a hypocrite, a sectarian, a coward and an opportunist. Example sentencesExamples - On the whole, though, this is either a specialist release for real dancehall heads or a bluffer's guide for those wanting to get into the scene.
- I knew it, just as I had known it a thousand times at the poker table, facing a thousand other bluffers.
- You will also know, as any runner does, that the session has to be completed and, unlike the bluffers who make up the ranks of the political intelligentsia, you do something on a daily basis that is objectively measured.
- Never mind, now you can hold your own in scholarly conversation by using this handy bluffer's guide to one of the world's toughest novels.
Origin Late 17th century (originally in the sense 'blindfold, hoodwink'): from Dutch bluffen 'brag', or bluf 'bragging'. The current sense (originally US, mid 19th century) originally referred to bluffing in the game of poker. There are two bluffs in English. The older is the steep cliff. It was originally a nautical adjective meaning ‘broad’ describing a ship's bows. The origin is not known. In the early 18th century it developed the sense ‘surly, abrupt in manner’. The current positive connotation ‘direct and good-natured’ dates from the early 19th century. The Canadian sense ‘grove, clump of trees’ dates from the mid 18th century. The other bluff, from the late 17th century, was first ‘to blindfold, hoodwink’. The word was adopted from Dutch bluffen ‘to brag, boast’. During the mid 19th century poker players in the USA began to use it—when players ‘bluffed’ in the game they tried to mislead others as to how good their hand of cards really was. The game of poker itself was called bluff. To call someone's bluff meant making another player show their hand to reveal that its value was weaker than their heavy betting had suggested. See also buff
Rhymes buff, chough, chuff, cuff, duff, enough, fluff, gruff, guff, huff, luff, puff, rough, ruff, scruff, scuff, slough, snuff, stuff, Tough, tuff adjective blʌfbləf Direct in speech or behaviour but in a good-natured way. Example sentencesExamples - One may counter that his music can take the bluff and hearty approach.
- The man, beneath his coarse and bluff exterior, is haunted by a sense of his own inadequacy.
- Beneath his bluff exterior, he is a narrow-minded reactionary with merely some financial success.
- He had a bluff and ebullient, although sympathetic manner, and was hospitable, always the life and soul of the party frequently one he had given himself.
- This is a play about transformations: a boy into a man, a man into a king, enmity to possible love (the wooing scene between the bluff Henry and the enchanting French princess is a delight).
- Blunt Limerick man and bluff Tipperary man did not enjoy the most harmonious of relationships.
- Megan looked over and up at a tall and bluff boy she's seen at school before standing in the doorway of what seemed to be his compartment.
- They allow her to reflect on what lies behind his macho, bluff exterior and why she reacts to it in the way that she does, in a supportive, non judgmental setting.
- Matching his rugged features he cultivated a bluff manner, parading humble origins and ridiculing a man who corrected his accent.
- There is nothing of the bluff and blustery manner, or the mean looks and imperious nature with which he had brought to life several characters in quick succession, the previous day.
- He flattered his clients on their excellent judgment in buying from him rather than his competitors, but he could be bluff and straightforward when necessary.
- The bluff sea-captains and commercial adventurers who founded the Australian colonies had no special gift for symbolism, but they knew what was expected of them.
- HE'S the gruff, bluff detective who's as likely to bawl you out for making bad tea as to snap the handcuffs on a villain - so would you let him loose in a fighter jet?
- He was a bluff, domineering character who exuded confidence though politically he often showed signs of naivety.
- A tough, bluff man, he had no desire to relive ancient trouble.
- During trips home we'd have these bluff conversations about money and prospects, pensions and security.
- Intentionally rough, the bluff critic reacts here as well to the spectacular reception of the poem.
- His amiable personality and bluff manner had an impact and he came across as the straightforward soldier, doing his best for the country.
- Some thought the bluff carrier commander was borderline nuts.
- Taking all of this into account, though there seemed to be an underlying sadness, I got the distinct impression that his bluff attitude was covering up something.
Synonyms plain-spoken, straightforward, blunt, direct, no-nonsense, frank, open, candid, outspoken, to the point, forthright, unequivocal, downright, hearty rough, abrupt, curt, gruff, short, brusque, not afraid to call a spade a spade, speaking as one finds genial, approachable, good-natured, friendly informal straight from the shoulder, upfront
Derivatives adverb She was nagging me for the final chapter, and I was bluffly maintaining that all was well, that everything was on course… but it wasn't. Example sentencesExamples - Then, to the surgeons surrounding him, he said bluffly, ‘If I'd gotten this much attention in Hollywood, I would never have left.’
- Equally, the British top brass fit their accepted celluloid type, being bluffly nonchalant in the face of a crisis and arrogantly dismissive of the idea that anybody of proper schooling could possibly commit treachery against their country.
- The head surgeon jokes bluffly, and a few people chuff or make the facsimile of laughter, to appease him.
- The group is fronted by a man who makes bluffly disparaging comments about ‘teenage rebellion’ and ‘plastic palm trees'.
noun ˈblʌfnəsˈbləfnəs It was a boisterous encounter, with the Senator alternating between his beaming bluffness and peevish refusal to address the man by name, referring to him as ‘this gentleman here’. Example sentencesExamples - His eccentricities included a penchant for gigantic pith helmets and a bluffness of expression that bordered on the Python-esque.
- He was no fan of the writer, perhaps in part because he saw in him an image of his own romantic emotivism and self-conscious idiosyncratic bluffness.
- The song arouses even the lethargic Toby, reminding him of love and silently exposing what blocks it - his class-based pride, his manly English bluffness, and his dependence on Maria and his anger at being dependent on her.
- ‘We have to win,’ the Scotland coach affirms with a bluffness which only Australians can pull off.
Origin Early 18th century (in the sense 'surly, abrupt in manner'): figurative use of bluff3. The current positive connotation dates from the early 19th century. noun blʌfbləf 1A steep cliff, bank, or promontory. Example sentencesExamples - Planning the campaign involved myriad geographical factors, including the Mississippi Delta region, streams of various navigabilities, steep banks, and bluffs northeast of the city.
- To help protect homes from falling into the ocean, some oceanside towns have reinforced the bluffs and cliffs with sea walls, but sea walls deprive beaches of the sand that normally erodes from the bluffs and cliffs.
- Below stretched Carnmore, a water-filled trench hemmed in by brooding peaks and startling rock bluffs, mile upon mile of rugged isolation.
- At this point, the steep bluffs lie approximately 30 m above the floodplain below.
- Deep ravines cut the northern shoreline off from inland settlements and transportation routes, and steep shale bluffs made it difficult to land goods on the shore.
- From the shadows came the roar of the waves as the beach swelled beneath the cliff bluffs.
- He hoped to strike the Indian camp simultaneously from the north and south - but had not counted on the maze of bluffs and ravines he would have to contend with to get there.
- The Marin Headlands, the dramatic bluffs and canyons just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, are a perspective-altering place.
- The bluff was wooded, and we could see but little.
- Here, gnarled sandstone bluffs drop straight into the sea.
- In fact there are river banks and bluffs, coulees and crowns, sandhills and blue hills and unnamed prominences, ravines.
- It is characterized by a permanent stream meandering through steep sandstone bluffs.
- Al Deir is encircled by the rounded bluffs and ridges of a range which plunges 1500 metres to Wadi Araba, a valley linking the Dead Sea to the Red Sea.
- The East Coast consists of several narrow bands of lowlands that lead to an intermediate zone of steep bluffs and ravines abutting a 1650 foot escarpment which provides access to the central highlands.
- During the breeding season, Prairie Falcons inhabit dry, open areas with cliffs and bluffs for nesting.
- On the steep bluffs north of downtown Seattle grows an impressive array of what is arguably the Pacific Northwest's most beautiful arboreal treasures: the Pacific madrone.
- These river bank bluffs are generally lined with woody vegetation that support a flora which is sporadically seasonally flooded, and is more open and prone to disturbance than other wooded inland sites.
- At the edge of the bluffs, visitors get beautiful views of the ocean and headlands.
- The slopes between the crags and rocky bluffs were still snowbound and while the snow was soft enough to kick steps into, the ground below was still iron-hard which is usually the result of several weeks of sub-zero temperatures.
- We are drifting in the surge line between rock pinnacles and the bluff and I cannot believe my eyes.
Synonyms cliff, ridge, promontory, headland, crag, bank, slope, height, peak, escarpment, scarp, precipice, rock face, overhang rare eminence 2Canadian A grove or clump of trees. Example sentencesExamples - The sun is just starting to illuminate the horizon of a cloud-laden sky and the dragons are behind a bluff of trees right on the city limits.
- It is comprised of bush, rock, two bluffs, and a swamp.
- Outcrops of the Prairie Grove often form bluffs and exhibit low - angle, trough cross-bedding.
- Today, all that remains is a bluff of trees in the middle of a cultivated field.
- A couple of miles north and south the trees thicken up and the farms all have bluffs of trees on them so it is quite scenic.
adjectiveblʌfbləf (of a cliff or a ship's bows) having a vertical or steep broad front. Example sentencesExamples - The stark rock, fading lower green fields, and deep blue of the ocean comes as a shock after the flat lush landscape and bluff coastline that characterises the rest of the county.
- Little or no mound fill was added to the westernmost edge of the mound with the contours of this area remaining essentially the same as the natural bluff ridge.
- Here a narrow bluff trail crosses open country known today as the East West Ranch, affording views back toward pine forests embracing the town.
- This attached vortex force is the source of pressure drag on a bluff body, such as a sphere or a flat plate normal to a steady flow.
- Half the barges were away, already sweeping downriver with thin, white mustaches under their bluff bows, when a commotion awoke ashore.
Origin Early 17th century (as an adjective, originally in nautical use): of unknown origin. nounbləfbləf An attempt to deceive someone into believing that one can or will do something. the offer was denounced as a bluff Example sentencesExamples - With limited resources and the inability to properly police such a vast area, the colonial authorities were playing little more than a game of bluff.
- How many games of double-and-triple bluff are going on here?
- A last-minute offer may be a ruse or a bluff but I'm the guy who ought to make that call.
- Still, for a man who has a history of bluffs and mind games not just in the Tour but throughout the season, no-one will immediately rule him out here, in a race he has won two times before.
- The psychology of poker involves bluffing and detecting the bluffs of others.
- The odds hadn't been in my favor as it seemed he was leading me on a series of bluffs and double-bluffs, but always keeping pace and never breaking the stare.
- She glanced off the platform and then back at him, hoping that he would believe her bluff and cough up the money.
- It would be comforting to think he is playing no more than a game of bluff with the whisky companies, privately sharing their scepticism about strip stamps while forcing them to come up with a convincing alternative.
- There are probably those who still believe that this is a bluff.
- The internet rumour mill has been working overtime, a game of bluff and counter-bluff spreading like a computer virus.
- They think the government is playing a game of bluff.
- This over-reaction is of course a bluff, an attempt to silence opposition, almost suggesting that these practices, reprehensible to me, are necessary for secular democracy.
- We've seen lots of boasts and threats and feints and bluffs, but generally speaking organizations like this only resort to threats when they're not actually capable of real operations.
- Trouble is, the first bluff is a life strategy while the second bluff is a political convenience.
- His denunciation of my research is an audacious bluff, believable only by those who have never opened my book.
- But apart from bluffs, tricks, and mayhem, the coming year may be a boon for babies.
- It is hard to read the auguries, so complex is this interplay of deception, self-deception, bluster and bluff.
- They had informed him that my attempt was no bluff - it was not done to get attention - a half attempt.
- It should be obvious why I badly want to believe that this is a bluff or a ruse.
- I was beginning to believe it had all been a big bluff…
Synonyms deception, subterfuge, pretence, sham, fake, show, deceit, false show, idle boast, feint, delusion, hoax, fraud, masquerade, charade
verbbləfbləf [no object]1Try to deceive someone as to one's abilities or intentions. he's been bluffing all along with object the object is to bluff your opponent into submission he bluffed his way onto an Antarctic supply vessel Example sentencesExamples - We also take more risks than men give us credit for which means it can be very hard to tell when a woman is bluffing.
- Both their livelihoods depend on the ability to bluff and sniff out fraud.
- I could get into their heads, so I knew if they were bluffing.
- And they know you aren't bluffing because, well, they'd do the same, and they know you've backed yourself into a corner.
- ‘I might just google ‘my wife doesn't understand me’ and see what I get,’ I threatened, but I was bluffing.
- That history, combined with his decision last week to give Congress more time to consider the transaction, has led some in Congress to conclude that he is bluffing and will give lots of ground.
- She'd read each one of them as they appeared - and she wasn't bluffing - she really knew them and thought about them a lot.
- However, it is entirely legal to try to mislead the opponents about your intentions by bluffing in the bidding, naming a contract completely different from the one you really want to play.
- Thankfully, I never discovered whether this gang of kids were bluffing or not because a strapping man who had been drinking in the pub opposite sauntered on to the street.
- But by bluffing and showing confidence and strength simply as a base attitude, I prevented anything getting out of hand.
- What private assurance did he have from the French that they were bluffing about a veto, or, if he had none, who advised him that they were probably bluffing?
- By bluffing and faking, you have to somehow provoke and deceive this system of defense.
- I'm fairly sure she knew I was bluffing with a large part of my ‘history lesson’.
- There was a magic revealed program on TV this weekend and I am sure that the magicians were bluffing with their revelations.
- Right up to the end the dictator who fooled the world was bluffing - even to his closest aides.
- Now it seems he may have been bluffing all along, thus the efficacy of such a coalition seems doubtful.
- He could have been bluffing, but we couldn't take that chance.
- Although my teacher certainly wasn't bluffing, I suspect we were both looking for the same thing: a cheap fix of escapism.
- And the truth is this: I was bluffing - I didn't know Rob's last name either.
- Furthermore, when I asked in the staffroom if the little horror was bluffing, I was told that in all likelihood, he was telling the truth.
Synonyms pretend, sham, fake, feign, put on an act, put it on, lie, hoax, pose, posture, masquerade, dissemble, dissimulate deceive, delude, mislead, trick, fool, hoodwink, dupe, hoax, take in, beguile, humbug, bamboozle, gull, cheat - 1.1 (in a card game) bet heavily on a weak hand in order to deceive opponents.
Example sentencesExamples - This should have been confirmed when he raised my modest bet, but I was somehow blinded by my pair of aces and trying to convince myself against my better judgement and all evidence that he was bluffing.
- If you don't ever get caught bluffing you almost certainly don't bluff enough.
- I was tempted to go all in and see if he was bluffing, but decided it would be embarrassing if I was the first to get knocked out (what with 46 looking on expectantly all this time), so I folded.
- Jade asked knowing full well Laura was bluffing, and like every card game she had with Laura, she brought out her ace.
- Those who play showhand rely not only on their skill, luck, courage and concentration, but also on their ability to bluff.
Phrases 1Challenge someone thought to be bluffing. she was tempted to call his bluff, hardly believing he'd carry out his threat Example sentencesExamples - In effect, where polluters had previously argued that emission control was too expensive, the new system called their bluff.
- Right or wrong, some of the guards called their bluff, and we can learn from that.
- I think furiously, she's calling my bluff, I'll push even further
- And should it respond by accommodating its demands, or by calling its bluff?
- Two idealistic activists, however, called his bluff.
- The bluff was called and it was game back on as players hastily deserted favourite watering holes.
- For these emotions to work, they must have a kind of inevitability built into them, such that, when someone calls your bluff, you cannot avoid carrying out your promise or threat.
- He had called her bluff, and she had met his challenge head on.
- If you gave because you liked the site, or even just wanted to humiliate me by calling my bluff, you're free to leave it - but believe me, I would not fault you in the slightest for asking for your money back.
- When anybody calls their bluff and punctures this self-delusion, they can only cope by insulting and vilifying their critics.
- Over the past few weeks, the president has called their bluff.
- His premise is that Democrats are ‘aghast’ at the president's ‘new’ Social Security proposal because he ‘has finally called their bluff.’
- In this case, the concerned students have called the publication 's bluff, pointing out that consideration for the larger community was not taken when the ‘back door’ article was produced.
- Just as the sailor will bring lively tales of adventure, he may also be able to ferret out falsehoods and call deceivers' bluffs, because he has gained wisdom from life's challenges and insights into human nature.
- But now that we know people are doing this, it's time for us to start calling their bluff: You aren't really talking to anyone are you?
- I called his bluff, expecting him to laugh - to turn around and leave.
- Or, what if we called their bluff and didn't give them the money and see what happens then?
- And it's about time someone from the conservative side of politics called their bluff.
- Transfolk, increasingly numerous, loud and proud, are calling our bluff.
- In a very real sense, I think the big commercial publishers now are clearly calling our bluff.
2(in poker or brag) make an opponent show their hand in order to reveal that its value is weaker than their heavy betting suggests. Example sentencesExamples - I called his bluff correctly though and I ended up getting all the chips back off him and knocking him out so was all good in the end.
- When not daring an opponent to call his bluff, he seduced them.
- One company has called the other's bluff and laid down on the table four Kings - four of a kind.
- I'm just a little disappointed that it went this far to play poker and to have someone call your bluff.
- There were two reasons why I called his bluff.
Origin Late 17th century (originally in the sense ‘blindfold, hoodwink’): from Dutch bluffen ‘brag’, or bluf ‘bragging’. The current sense (originally US, mid 19th century) originally referred to bluffing in the game of poker. adjectivebləfbləf Direct in speech or behavior but in a good-natured way. Example sentencesExamples - He had a bluff and ebullient, although sympathetic manner, and was hospitable, always the life and soul of the party frequently one he had given himself.
- Intentionally rough, the bluff critic reacts here as well to the spectacular reception of the poem.
- Blunt Limerick man and bluff Tipperary man did not enjoy the most harmonious of relationships.
- HE'S the gruff, bluff detective who's as likely to bawl you out for making bad tea as to snap the handcuffs on a villain - so would you let him loose in a fighter jet?
- There is nothing of the bluff and blustery manner, or the mean looks and imperious nature with which he had brought to life several characters in quick succession, the previous day.
- The man, beneath his coarse and bluff exterior, is haunted by a sense of his own inadequacy.
- He was a bluff, domineering character who exuded confidence though politically he often showed signs of naivety.
- Matching his rugged features he cultivated a bluff manner, parading humble origins and ridiculing a man who corrected his accent.
- A tough, bluff man, he had no desire to relive ancient trouble.
- Megan looked over and up at a tall and bluff boy she's seen at school before standing in the doorway of what seemed to be his compartment.
- This is a play about transformations: a boy into a man, a man into a king, enmity to possible love (the wooing scene between the bluff Henry and the enchanting French princess is a delight).
- Some thought the bluff carrier commander was borderline nuts.
- They allow her to reflect on what lies behind his macho, bluff exterior and why she reacts to it in the way that she does, in a supportive, non judgmental setting.
- Beneath his bluff exterior, he is a narrow-minded reactionary with merely some financial success.
- Taking all of this into account, though there seemed to be an underlying sadness, I got the distinct impression that his bluff attitude was covering up something.
- The bluff sea-captains and commercial adventurers who founded the Australian colonies had no special gift for symbolism, but they knew what was expected of them.
- During trips home we'd have these bluff conversations about money and prospects, pensions and security.
- His amiable personality and bluff manner had an impact and he came across as the straightforward soldier, doing his best for the country.
- One may counter that his music can take the bluff and hearty approach.
- He flattered his clients on their excellent judgment in buying from him rather than his competitors, but he could be bluff and straightforward when necessary.
Synonyms plain-spoken, straightforward, blunt, direct, no-nonsense, frank, open, candid, outspoken, to the point, forthright, unequivocal, downright, hearty
Origin Early 18th century (in the sense ‘surly, abrupt in manner’): figurative use of bluff. The current positive connotation dates from the early 19th century. nounbləfbləf 1A steep cliff, bank, or promontory. Example sentencesExamples - At this point, the steep bluffs lie approximately 30 m above the floodplain below.
- At the edge of the bluffs, visitors get beautiful views of the ocean and headlands.
- These river bank bluffs are generally lined with woody vegetation that support a flora which is sporadically seasonally flooded, and is more open and prone to disturbance than other wooded inland sites.
- The Marin Headlands, the dramatic bluffs and canyons just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, are a perspective-altering place.
- The East Coast consists of several narrow bands of lowlands that lead to an intermediate zone of steep bluffs and ravines abutting a 1650 foot escarpment which provides access to the central highlands.
- It is characterized by a permanent stream meandering through steep sandstone bluffs.
- We are drifting in the surge line between rock pinnacles and the bluff and I cannot believe my eyes.
- Al Deir is encircled by the rounded bluffs and ridges of a range which plunges 1500 metres to Wadi Araba, a valley linking the Dead Sea to the Red Sea.
- During the breeding season, Prairie Falcons inhabit dry, open areas with cliffs and bluffs for nesting.
- The slopes between the crags and rocky bluffs were still snowbound and while the snow was soft enough to kick steps into, the ground below was still iron-hard which is usually the result of several weeks of sub-zero temperatures.
- In fact there are river banks and bluffs, coulees and crowns, sandhills and blue hills and unnamed prominences, ravines.
- To help protect homes from falling into the ocean, some oceanside towns have reinforced the bluffs and cliffs with sea walls, but sea walls deprive beaches of the sand that normally erodes from the bluffs and cliffs.
- Here, gnarled sandstone bluffs drop straight into the sea.
- Below stretched Carnmore, a water-filled trench hemmed in by brooding peaks and startling rock bluffs, mile upon mile of rugged isolation.
- The bluff was wooded, and we could see but little.
- From the shadows came the roar of the waves as the beach swelled beneath the cliff bluffs.
- Planning the campaign involved myriad geographical factors, including the Mississippi Delta region, streams of various navigabilities, steep banks, and bluffs northeast of the city.
- Deep ravines cut the northern shoreline off from inland settlements and transportation routes, and steep shale bluffs made it difficult to land goods on the shore.
- He hoped to strike the Indian camp simultaneously from the north and south - but had not counted on the maze of bluffs and ravines he would have to contend with to get there.
- On the steep bluffs north of downtown Seattle grows an impressive array of what is arguably the Pacific Northwest's most beautiful arboreal treasures: the Pacific madrone.
Synonyms cliff, ridge, promontory, headland, crag, bank, slope, height, peak, escarpment, scarp, precipice, rock face, overhang 2Canadian A grove or clump of trees. Example sentencesExamples - It is comprised of bush, rock, two bluffs, and a swamp.
- A couple of miles north and south the trees thicken up and the farms all have bluffs of trees on them so it is quite scenic.
- Outcrops of the Prairie Grove often form bluffs and exhibit low - angle, trough cross-bedding.
- The sun is just starting to illuminate the horizon of a cloud-laden sky and the dragons are behind a bluff of trees right on the city limits.
- Today, all that remains is a bluff of trees in the middle of a cultivated field.
adjectivebləfbləf (of a cliff or a ship's bow) having a vertical or steep broad front. Example sentencesExamples - The stark rock, fading lower green fields, and deep blue of the ocean comes as a shock after the flat lush landscape and bluff coastline that characterises the rest of the county.
- Little or no mound fill was added to the westernmost edge of the mound with the contours of this area remaining essentially the same as the natural bluff ridge.
- Half the barges were away, already sweeping downriver with thin, white mustaches under their bluff bows, when a commotion awoke ashore.
- Here a narrow bluff trail crosses open country known today as the East West Ranch, affording views back toward pine forests embracing the town.
- This attached vortex force is the source of pressure drag on a bluff body, such as a sphere or a flat plate normal to a steady flow.
Origin Early 17th century (as an adjective, originally in nautical use): of unknown origin. |