gaff

See also:Gaff

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/ɡæf/

• Audio(General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-æf
• Homophone:gaffe

Etymology 1

FromMiddle Englishgaffe,fromOld Frenchgaffe,fromOld Occitangaf(“hook”),derivative ofgafar(“to seize”),fromGothic𐌲𐌰𐍆𐍆-(gaff-)derived from𐌲𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽(giban,“to give”).Doubletofgaffe.

The underwear sense apparently derives from the idea that the garment tricks or deceives others about the wearer's genitalia.

Noun

gaff(pluralgaffs)

1. Atoolconsisting of a largemetalhookwith ahandleorpole,especially the one used topulllargefishaboard aboat.

   Synonym:hakapik

   • 1997,Mark Kurlansky,Cod: a Biography of the Fish That Changed the World:

     When Leonard finally hauls up a cod of seventy-five centimeters, probably seven years old, a typical catch ten years ago, they all joke, "Oh my God, get thegaff!"

2. Aminorerrororfaux pas,agaffe.

   We politely ignored hisgaff.

3. Atrickorcon.

   The sideshow feat was just agaff,but the audience was too proud to admit they'd been fooled.

4. (nautical)The uppersparused to control agaff-riggedsail.
5. (LGBT)A type oftight,panty-likeunderwearworn to hold the malegenitaliatuckedbackwardsand make one'sgenitalregion looksmooth,as if one had avulva.
   • 1964,Kenneth Marlowe,Mr. Madam: Confessions of a Male Madam‎^[1],Los Angeles: Sherbourne Press,→LCCN,page17:

     This may sound strange to readers who know little about nudes but many female impersonators, or femme-mimics, workau naturel—except for agaff,a bra, body makeup, jewelry, and a wig (on their head). See! Semi-nude!!

   • 1996,Christina Abernathy,Miss Abernathy's Concise Slave Training Manual‎^[2],San Francisco: Greenery Press,→ISBN,page35:

     Sissy maids may be required to wear agaffto disguise the male genitals, and a dominant may wish a slave to wear it on a daily basis.

   • 2006,Richard Ekins, Dave King,The Transgender Phenomenon,Sage Publications,→ISBN,page227:

     Vicky is a pre-operative MTF transsexual[…]Wearing feminine underwear over hergaffin bed helps her to redefine her absence of female genitalia during sex (sexuality) in terms of it being her 'time of the month', as she jokes to Sean [her first boyfriend].

Derived terms

• all over the gaff
• gaff rig
• gaff sail
• gaff tape
• gaff-topsail,Gaff Topsail
• monkey gaff
• penny-gaff
• tip the gaff

Translations

handle with a hook

• Bulgarian:кука(bg)f(kuka)
• Finnish:pokara(fi)
• Georgian:ბარჯი(barǯi)
• German:Fischhakenn
• Greek:καμάκι(el)n(kamáki)
• Irish:gam
• Italian:uncino(it)m,fiocina(it)f,croccom
• Komi-Zyrian:багыр(bagyr)
• Maori:pīhuka
• Mari:

  Eastern Mari:пагор(pagor)

  Western Mari:пагыр(pagyr)

• Northern Mansi:^{(pleaseverify)}ва̄ӈкрип(vāňkrip)
• Polish:osękaf,osękm
• Russian:баго́р(ru)m(bagór)

minor error or faux pas—seegaffe

fraud—seefraud

nautical

• Czech:vratiráhnon
• Finnish:kahveli(fi)

Verb

gaff(third-person singular simple presentgaffs,present participlegaffing,simple past and past participlegaffed)

1. To use agaff,especially tolandafish.
2. Tocheatorhoax.
3. (transitive)Todoctorormodifyfordeceptivepurposes.
   • 1993,Betty Lou Wolfe, Marian Jean Gray,The Way We Were: Reflections from the 1930's,page23:

     When the operator began losing, hegaffedthe wheel and then the patron had no chance to win. With his secret device an experienced grifter could stop the wheel at will on any number.

   • 1977,FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin,volume46,number 9, page 8:

     However, this apathy will quickly disappear if it is learned the friendly game involves marked (gaffed) cards.

   • 1989,Penn & Teller's Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends,page96:

     You will be usinggaffedcards: a double faced card.

4. (slang,obsolete)Togamble,especially bytossingcoins.
5. (transitive,informal)Toaffixgaffer tapeto, orcoverwith gaffer tape.
   • 2013July 19, Kai-Huei Yau, “Shoot before you dye”, inTri-City Herald‎^[3],archived fromthe originalon20 February 2020:

     Igaffeddown the sleeves to my lens hoods instead of just relying on the drawstring to hold it in place.

Derived terms

• gaffer

Translations

to use a gaff to land fish

• Georgian:დაბარჯვა(dabarǯva)
• Maori:pīhuka

Etymology 2

Perhaps fromOld Englishgafsprǣc(“buffoonery, scurrility; blasphemous or ribald speech”),fromOld Englishgaf(“base, vile, lewd”)+Old Englishsprǣc(“language, speech, talk”).CompareOld Englishgaffetung,gafettung(“scoffing, mockery, derision”).

Noun

gaff

1. Roughorharshtreatment;criticism.
   • 1916,Edgar Rice Burrows,Beyond Thirty (aka The Lost Continent)‎^[4],HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published2008:

     "Numbers one, two, and five engines have broken down, sir," he called. "Shall we force the remaining three?" / "We can do nothing else," I bellowed into the transmitter. / "They won't stand thegaff,sir, "he returned. /" Can you suggest a better plan? "I asked. /" No, sir, "he replied. /" Then give them thegaff,lieutenant, "I shouted back, and hung up the receiver.

2. (dated)Anoutcry;nonsense.

Derived terms

• blow the gaff
• gaff off

Related terms

• gaffe

Etymology 3

Unknown. Possibly from Etymology 1, via a sense of “a place that will be robbed” in criminal argot; possibly from Etymology 2, via a sense of "cheap theatre"; possibly fromRomanigav(“village”)(whenceGermanKaff(“village”)).

Alternative forms

• gaf

Noun

gaff(pluralgaffs)

1. (Ireland;British,especiallyDublin,Manchester,MLE,Cockneyand Glaswegian;slang)A place of residence.

   We're going round to Mike'sgafflater to watch the footie.

   • 1971,Richard Carpenter,Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac,Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page56:

     "Steady on, mate. How was I to know this was yourgaff?I was lookin' for somewhere to kip. "

   • 1993,Tristan Hawkins,Pepper,London: Flamingo,→ISBN,page106:

     And like I said, I was so fuck-faced that I forgot I'd moved and let myself back into my oldgaff.

   • 2015April 4, Judith Woods, “I knew it! Spring cleaning is bad for your family's health[print version: Vindicated at last! It's healthier to be a slatternly housewife, p. 28]”,inThe Daily Telegraph‎^[5],archived fromthe originalon9 April 2015:

     Am I alone in feeling smug (if slatternly) about the news that super-clean homes are a breeding ground for infection? Apparently, all that bleach is bad not just for germs but for children's immune systems, too, and paradoxically causes more disease than it prevents. Not round mygaff.Oh no. My standards of housekeeping are so abysmally low that my eldest daughter was three years old before she even developed a temperature.

   • 2019April 30, “The Godfather”,Ink(lyrics)‎^[6],0:37–0:40:

     Man will enter thegafwith crown
     Gun shot spin his head right round

   • 2019November 7, Erike Sanker, “20 mad Dublin slang phrases that only make sense to locals”, inIreland Before You Die (IB4UD)‎^[7]:

     The term ‘freegaf’ is music to any teenage ears in Dublin, while the term ‘wreak thegaf’ should fill any parent with dread. The term ‘gaf’ means ‘house,’ so when parents are away […]

2. (UK,slang,dated)Adisreputable,low-endtheatre.

   Hyponym:penny gaff

   • 2004,Kerry Powell,The Cambridge Companion to Victorian and Edwardian Theatre,page273:

     Significantly, the setting is agaff,a low, illegal theatre, and not one of the legitimate East-End stages.

Etymology 4

Noun

gaff(uncountable)

1. (informal,uncountable)Clipping ofgaffer tape.

   She bought a roll of blackgaffto tape down the loose cords.

Anagrams

• aff'g