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gaff

[gaf]

Example Sentences Origin

noun

an iron hook with a handle for landing large fish.

the spur on a climbing iron, especially as used by telephone linemen.

Nautical. a spar rising aft from a mast to support the head of a quadrilateral fore-and-aft sail (gaff sail).

a metal spur for a gamecock.

verb (used with object)

to hook or land (a fish) with a gaff.

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Gaff is one of our favorite verbs.

So is fletcherise. Does it mean:

to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.

to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.

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Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English < Middle French gaffe, gaff < Provençal gaf hook, gaff, noun derivative of gafar to seize (compare Medieval Latin gaffare), probably < Germanic (Visigothic) *gaff-, perhaps derivative from base of Gothic giban give

Example Sentences

He then gave orders for a man to go up and loose the gaff topsails.

Perry, the problem may be that nobody was really shocked by the latest gaff.

The two teams had agreed to race only the old-fashioned wooden boats known as gaff rigs, some of them a century old.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

harsh treatment or criticism: All the gaff he took never made him bitter.

Idiom

stand/take the gaff, Slang. to weather hardship or strain; endure patiently.

Origin:
1895–1900, Americanism; compare earlier British use: nonsense, humbug, Scots dial.: loud laugh, guffaw; of uncertain origin; compare guff

verb (used with object)

Slang. to cheat; fleece.

verb (used without object)

British Slang. to gamble, especially to indulge in petty gambling, as to toss coins.

Origin:
1745–55; origin uncertain

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To gaff

Collins

World English Dictionary

gaff¹ (ɡæf)

—n
1.	angling a stiff pole with a stout prong or hook attached for landing large fish
2.	nautical a boom hoisted aft of a mast to support a gaffsail
3.	a metal spur fixed to the leg of a gamecock

—vb
4.	angling to hook or land (a fish) with a gaff
5.	slang to cheat; hoax

[C13: from French gaffe, from Provençal gaf boathook]

gaff² (ɡæf)

—n
1.	slang foolish talk; nonsense
2.	slang (Brit) blow the gaff to divulge a secret
3.	slang chiefly (US), (Canadian) stand the gaff to endure ridicule, difficulties, etc

[C19: of unknown origin]

gaff³ (ɡæf)

—n
1.	a person's home, esp a flat
2.	Also called: penny-gaff a cheap or low-class place of entertainment, esp a cheap theatre or music hall in Victorian England

[C18: of unknown origin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

gaff

"iron hook," 1725, gaffe, from Fr. gaffe "boat hook" (see gaffe). Specifically of the hook on a fishing spear from 1650s.

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gaff

"loud, rude talk," 1825, from Scottish dialect, perhaps a survival of O.E. gafspraec "blasphemous or ribald speech," or from gaff (1), and cf. gaffe.

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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

gaff

see stand the gaff.