bluff

Word family

bluff1 /blʌf/ verb [intransitiveI, transitiveT]

PRETENDto pretend something, especially in order to achieve what you want in a difficult or dangerous situation 虚张声势，吓唬；欺骗

You wouldn’t really tell her. You’re bluffing!

你不会真的告诉她吧，你在吓唬我！

bluff your way out of/through/past etc somebody/something (=go somewhere or succeed in doing something by deceiving someone) 骗过某人出来/穿过/经过等；蒙混过关

I hope we’ll be able to bluff our way past the guard.

我希望我们可以骗过保安。

‘I was with Don, ’ she said, deciding to bluff it out (=continue to pretend something).

她决定装到底，就说:“我是和唐在一起。”

bluff somebody into (doing) something (=make someone do something by deceiving them) 骗某人做某事

Examples from the Corpus

bluff• But Amanda knew him well enough to suspect that he might be bluffing.• The prospect of scaring off awkward media revelations will always provide a great temptation for Attorneys to bluff.• This would be a pity if the Attorney were bluffing.• The complexity arises when all players know how to bluff and double-bluff.• Remember the hands you were dealt, the full-house of love, the ace-high you bluffed on.• If he bids high, is he bluffing, or does he actually hold a strong hand?• They're not bluffing when they say this could start a civil war.

bluff it out• Most people pay up straight away, but there are a few who keep trying to bluff it out.• So perhaps we can bluff it out and collect software by day leaving philosophical disquiet to the troubled night.• I shall bluff it out at least until my next dole cheque.• Could he bluff it out, or had he really done it now?

Related topics: Nature, Geology, Geography

bluff2 noun

1 [countableC, uncountableU]PRETEND an attempt to deceive someone by making them think you will do something, when you do not intend to do it 虚张声势，吓唬

The threat was only a bluff.

这种威胁不过是吓唬人而已。

Whatever you say, you must do it. This isn’t a game of bluff.

不管你说什么，你一定得去做，这可不是在唬人。

→ double bluff

2. call somebody’s bluff TELLto tell someone to do what they have threatened because you do not believe that they will really do it 要求某人做其威胁要做的事〔因为不相信对方真的会那么做〕

3. [countableC]DN a very steep cliff or slope 峭壁，悬崖，陡岸

Examples from the Corpus

bluff• His bluff, finally, had been called.• Working as a trader makes me sensitive to the little bluffs people use.• This was a game of bluffs and double bluffs.• Johnson said the threats were pure bluff.• Culley had climbed a small bluff and crouched down on his heels to clear the skyline.• Dove slid down the rope, his feet skipping over the craggy face of the bluff toward the boy.• Most stayed, under the shadowy evergreens, among the tall sycamores and beeches on the bluff above the water.• From the interstate highway which runs nearby, nothing about this bluff looks any different from thousands of others.• The trick is to live long enough to put your young bluffs to use.• When some one calls your bluff, you best ignore him.

game of bluff• This can quickly turn into a game of bluff.• Sometimes dealers and clients alike wondered whether the whole thing wasn't just a game of bluff.• Whatever you say, you must be prepared to do; it isn't a game of bluff.• This was a game of bluffs and double bluffs.• This game of bluff was played by the Allies as well.

bluff3 adjectiveadj

HAPPYa bluff person, usually a man, is pleasant but very direct and does not always consider other people 率直的，爽快的，豪爽的〔但有时不顾及别人〕

He was a bluff no-nonsense administrator.

他是一个干脆豪爽的主管。

Examples from the Corpus

bluff• a big, bluff man with a nice smile

Origin bluff1

(1600-1700) Probably from Dutch bluffen “to boast, play a kind of card game”

bluff2

1. (1800-1900) → BLUFF1

2. (1600-1700) → BLUFF3

bluff3