bluffer


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bluff 1

 (blŭf)
v. bluffed, bluff·ing, bluffs
v.intr.
1. To engage in a false display of confidence or aggression in order to deceive or intimidate someone: The management debated if there would really be a strike or if the union was bluffing.
2. To make a display of aggression, as by charging or baring the teeth, as a means of intimidating another animal.
3. To try to mislead opponents in a card game by heavy betting on a poor hand or by little or no betting on a good one.
v.tr.
1. To deceive or intimidate (someone) by a false display of confidence or aggression.
2. To try to mislead (opponents) in a card game by heavy betting on a poor hand or by little or no betting on a good one.
3. To start but not carry out (an action) as a means of deceiving or intimidating another: The pitcher bluffed a throw to first base.
n.
The act or practice of bluffing.
Idiom:
bluff (one's) way
To deceive someone or accomplish something by making a false display.

[Origin unknown.]

bluff′a·ble adj.
bluff′er n.

bluff 2

 (blŭf)
n.
A steep headland, promontory, riverbank, or cliff.
adj. bluff·er, bluff·est
1. Having or showing a rough and blunt but not unkind manner: "the great big bluff guests who told bawdy jokes and got up early to watch the sun rise" (Erin McGraw).
2. Having a broad, steep front: the boat's bluff bow.

[Probably from obsolete Dutch blaf or Middle Low German blaff, broad.]

bluff′ly adv.
bluff′ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.bluffer - a person who tries to bluff other people
beguiler, cheater, deceiver, trickster, slicker, cheat - someone who leads you to believe something that is not true
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

bluffer

[ˈblʌfəʳ] Nfarolero/a m/f
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

bluffer

nBluffer m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

bluffer

[ˈblʌfəʳ] nbluffatore/trice
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
It was probably owing to this fortification of the natural strength of his constitution with so much exposure to the air, and the salt sea, that Mr Sparkler did not pine outwardly; but, whatever the cause, he was so far from having any prospect of moving his mistress by a languishing state of health, that he grew bluffer every day, and that peculiarity in his appearance of seeming rather a swelled boy than a young man, became developed to an extraordinary degree of ruddy puffiness.
In a number of cases I've been told of, they have the bluffer's number long before the bluffer knows it himself.
An Irish journalist said 'bluffer' - defined as 'an attempt to deceive someone into believing that one knows or will do something' - is the ultimate seal of disapproval from Keane.
But, if you're a good bluffer, filthy lucre is not essential.
IF you've missed what the fuss is about - and want to join in the chatter without watching all 54 episodes screened so far - here's our bluffer's guide.
I sampled four wines at each and in addition received the perfect guide to being a buff, or bluffer in my case.
So much so that in August 1999 the London Evening Standard felt obliged to publish an hilarious 'Bluffer's Guide' so readers could pretend they had seen it, "thereby allowing dinner party conversations and watercooler debates to run their course unhindered by ignorance."
The painting of the girl walking the dog at the beach is titled "January Thaw, Bluffer's Park, Lake Ontario"
Here's a very short and sweet bluffer's guide to terms you'll hear on the maes...
Travels to Bluffer Art Museum, Houston, fall 2013; SITE Santa Fe, NM, winter 2014.
Using his skills as a bluffer, Jane manages to leave jail and decides to visit his victim's wife house, where he tries to find clues to clear him from the crime.

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