Bluster vs Bluff - What's the difference?
bluster | bluff |
Pompous, officious talk.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=70, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= A gust of wind.
Fitful noise and violence.
To speak or protest loudly.
To act or speak in an unduly threatening manner.
* Burke
* Sir T. More
* Fuller
To blow in strong or sudden gusts.
* Milton
An act of bluffing; a false expression of the strength of one's position in order to intimidate; braggadocio.
(poker) An attempt to represent oneself as holding a stronger hand than they actually do.
(US, dated) The card game poker.
((poker) To make a bluff ; to give the impression that one's hand is stronger than it is.
(by analogy ) To frighten or deter with a false show of strength or confidence; to give a false impression of strength or temerity in order to intimidate and gain some advantage.
A high, steep bank, as by a river or the sea, or beside a ravine or plain; a cliff with a broad face.
(senseid) (Canadian Prairies) A small wood or stand of trees, typically poplar or willow.
Having a broad, flattened front.
Rising steeply with a flat or rounded front.
* Falconer
* Judd
Surly; churlish; gruff; rough.
* 1883:
Abrupt; roughly frank; unceremonious; blunt; brusque.
* I. Taylor
As nouns the difference between bluster and bluff
is that bluster is pompous, officious talk while bluff is an act of bluffing; a false expression of the strength of one's position in order to intimidate; braggadocio.As verbs the difference between bluster and bluff
is that bluster is to speak or protest loudly while bluff is ( To make a bluff; to give the impression that one's hand is stronger than it is.As an adjective bluff is
having a broad, flattened front.As a proper noun Bluff is
the southernmost town in the South Island of New Zealand, and seaport for the Southland region.bluster
English
Noun
(en noun)Engineers of a different kind, passage=Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster .}}
Synonyms
* (pompous talk) bombastVerb
- When confronted by opposition his reaction was to bluster , which often cowed the meek.
- Your ministerial directors blustered like tragic tyrants.
- He bloweth and blustereth out his abominable blasphemy.
- As if therewith he meant to bluster all princes into a perfect obedience to his commands.
- And ever-threatening storms / Of Chaos blustering round.
Derived terms
* blusterer * blustering * blusterous * blusteryAnagrams
* *bluff
English
(wikipedia bluff)Etymology 1
From (etyl) .Noun
(en noun)- That is only bluff''', or a '''bluff .
- John's bet was a bluff : he bet without even so much as a pair.
- (Bartlett)
Verb
(en verb)- John bluffed by betting without even a pair.
- The government claims it will call an election if this bill does not pass. Is it truly ready to do so, or is it bluffing ?
Derived terms
* bluffer * double bluff * triple bluff * quadruple bluff * semi-bluffEtymology 2
Related to blaff, "smooth".Noun
(en noun)Adjective
(er)- the bluff bows of a ship
- a bluff or bold shore
- Its banks, if not really steep, had a bluff and precipitous aspect.
- he had a bluff , rough-and-ready face, all roughened and reddened and lined in his long travels.
- a bluff''' answer; a '''bluff''' manner of talking; a '''bluff sea captain
- There is indeed a bluff pertinacity which is a proper defence in a moment of surprise.