bluff2

[bluhf] /blʌf/
verb (used with object)
1.
to mislead by a display of strength, self-confidence, or the like:
He bluffed me into believing that he was a doctor.
2.
to gain by bluffing:
He bluffed his way into the job.
3.
Poker. to deceive by a show of confidence in the strength of one's cards.
verb (used without object)
4.
to mislead someone by presenting a bold, strong, or self-confident front:
That open face makes it impossible for him to bluff.
noun
5.
an act or instance or the practice of bluffing:
Her pathetic story was all a bluff to get money from us. His assertive manner is mostly bluff.
6.
a person who bluffs; bluffer:
That big bluff doesn't have a nickel to his name.
Idioms
7.
call someone's bluff, to expose a person's deception; challenge someone to carry out a threat:
He always said he would quit, so we finally called his bluff.
Origin
1665-75; perhaps < Low German bluffen to bluster, frighten; akin to Middle Dutch bluffen to make a trick at cards
Related forms
bluffable, adjective
bluffer, noun
unbluffable, adjective
unbluffed, adjective
unbluffing, adjective
Synonyms
1. deceive, fool, dupe, delude, hoodwink.
British Dictionary definitions for call someone's bluff

bluff1

/blʌf/
verb
1.
to pretend to be confident about an uncertain issue or to have undisclosed resources, in order to influence or deter (someone)
noun
2.
deliberate deception intended to create the impression of a stronger position or greater resources than one actually has
3.
call someone's bluff, to challenge someone to give proof of his claims
Derived Forms
bluffer, noun
Word Origin
C19: originally US poker-playing term, from Dutch bluffen to boast

bluff2

/blʌf/
noun
1.
a steep promontory, bank, or cliff, esp one formed by river erosion on the outside bend of a meander
2.
(Canadian) a clump of trees on the prairie; copse
adjective
3.
good-naturedly frank and hearty
4.
(of a bank, cliff, etc) presenting a steep broad face
Derived Forms
bluffly, adverb
bluffness, noun
Word Origin
C17 (in the sense: nearly perpendicular): perhaps from Middle Dutch blaf broad
Word Origin and History for call someone's bluff

bluff

v.

1839, American English, poker term, perhaps from Dutch bluffen "to brag, boast," or verbluffen "to baffle, mislead." An identical word meant "blindfold, hoodwink" in 1670s, but the sense evolution and connection are unclear; OED calls it "one of the numerous cant terms ... which arose between the Restoration and the reign of Queen Anne." Extended or figurative sense by 1854. Related: Bluffed; bluffing.

n.

"broad, vertical cliff," 1680s, from bluff (adj.) "with a broad, flat front" (1620s), a sailors' word, probably from Dutch blaf "flat, broad." Apparently a North Sea nautical term for ships with flat vertical bows, later extended to landscape features.

1844 as an alternative name for poker; from bluff (v.). As "an act of bluffing" by 1864.

Slang definitions & phrases for call someone's bluff

call someone's bluff

verb phrase

To force someone to justify or validate a pretense; require the truth: When she called his bluff, he had to admit he was lying (1870s+)


bluff

noun

: His courage was all bluff •A noun sense fr 1849 is ''an excuse'' (1870s+)

verb

To use confident pretense as a means of winning or succeeding •The 1674 definition is ''to blindfold or hoodwink''; the game of poker was originally known as bluff (1670s+)

Related Terms

call someone's bluff

[perhaps related to, though not derived fr, a late 1700s bluff, ''a blindfold or blinker for a horse'']


Idioms and Phrases with call someone's bluff

call someone's bluff

Expose someone's deception, invite a showdown, as in I don't believe they have enough capital; I'm going to call their bluff . This term comes from poker, where bluffing (pretending) that one has better cards than one's opponents is an intrinsic part of the game, and calling someone's bluff means forcing them to show their cards. By the late 1800s it was being applied to other enterprises. Also see show one's hand

bluff

see: call someone's bluff