gaff

views updated Jun 27 2018

gaff1 / gaf/ • n. 1. a stick with a hook, or a barbed spear, for landing large fish. 2. Sailing a spar to which the head of a fore-and-aft sail is bent. • v. [tr.] seize or impale with a gaff. gaff2 • n. rough treatment; criticism: if wages increase, perhaps we can stand the gaff.gaff3 • n. Brit., inf. a house, apartment, or other building, esp. as being a person's home: John's new gaff is on McDonald Road.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

gaff

views updated May 21 2018

gaff1 hook XIII; fishing-spear XVII; steel spur XVIII. — Pr. gaf hook, of uncert. orig.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

gaff

views updated May 11 2018

gaff2 (sl.) secret, in phr. blow the gaff. XIX. of unkn. orig.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

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