gaff
/ɡæf/
gaff noun: a tool consisting of a large metal hook with a handle or pole, especially the one used to pull large fish aboard a boat. Also the clipping of gaffer tape.
Noun (1)
gaff (plural gaffs)
- A tool consisting of a large metal hook with a handle or pole, especially the one used to pull large fish aboard a boat.
- 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 the gaff!"1997, Mark Kurlansky, Cod: a Biography of the Fish That Changed the World
- Synonyms:
- hakapik
- A minor error or faux pas, a gaffe.
- We politely ignored his gaff.
- A trick or con.
- The sideshow feat was just a gaff, but the audience was too proud to admit they'd been fooled.
- The upper spar used to control a gaff-rigged sail.
- A type of tight, panty-like underwear worn to hold the penis and testicles tucked backwards and make one's genital region look smooth, as if one had a vulva.
- This may sound strange to readers who know little about nudes but many female impersonators, or femme-mimics, work au naturel—except for a gaff, a bra, body makeup, jewelry, and a wig (on their head). See! Semi-nude!!1964, Kenneth Marlowe, Mr. Madam: Confessions of a Male Madam, Los Angeles: Sherbourne Press, →LCCN, page 17
- Sissy maids may be required to wear a gaff to disguise the male genitals, and a dominant may wish a slave to wear it on a daily basis.1996, Christina Abernathy, Miss Abernathy's Concise Slave Training Manual, San Francisco: Greenery Press, →ISBN, page 35
Verb
gaff (third-person singular simple present gaffs, present participle gaffing, simple past and past participle gaffed)
- To use a gaff, especially to land a fish.
- I stepped out and advanced valiantly upon a long-maned bull in the midst of his wives. I was armed with the regular club with which the boat-pullers killed the wounded seals gaffed aboard by the hunters.1904, Jack London, chapter 30, in The Sea-Wolf (Macmillan’s Standard Library), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC
- To cheat or hoax.
- To doctor or modify for deceptive purposes.
- When the operator began losing, he gaffed the 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.1993, Betty Lou Wolfe, Marian Jean Gray, The Way We Were: Reflections from the 1930's, page 23
- However, this apathy will quickly disappear if it is learned the friendly game involves marked (gaffed) cards.1977, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, volume 46, number 9, page 8
- To gamble, especially by tossing coins.
- To affix gaffer tape to, or cover with gaffer tape.
- I gaffed down the sleeves to my lens hoods instead of just relying on the drawstring to hold it in place.2013 July 19, Kai-Huei Yau, “Shoot before you dye”, in Tri-City Herald, archived from the original on 20 Feb 2020
Noun (2)
gaff
- Rough or harsh treatment; criticism.
- "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 the gaff, sir," he returned. / "Can you suggest a better plan?" I asked. / "No, sir," he replied. / "Then...1916, Edgar Rice Burrows, Beyond Thirty (aka The Lost Continent), HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2008
- An outcry; nonsense.
Noun (3)
gaff (plural gaffs)
- A place of residence.
- We're going round to Mike's gaff later to watch the footie.
- "Steady on, mate. How was I to know this was your gaff? I was lookin' for somewhere to kip."1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 56
- A disreputable, low-end theatre.
- Significantly, the setting is a gaff, a low, illegal theatre, and not one of the legitimate East-End stages.2004, Kerry Powell, The Cambridge Companion to Victorian and Edwardian Theatre, page 273
Proper noun capitalized: Gaff
Gaff (plural Gaffs)
- A surname.
Also used as
gaff is also the clipping of gaffer tape.
Examples of gaff in a sentence
- You will be using gaffed cards: a double faced card.1989, Penn & Teller's Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends, page 96:
- And like I said, I was so fuck-faced that I forgot I'd moved and let myself back into my old gaff.1993, Tristan Hawkins, Pepper, London: Flamingo, →ISBN, page 106:
Synonyms of gaff
Forms of gaff
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | gaffs |
| alternative form | gaf |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | gaffs |
| present participle | gaffing |
| past participle | gaffed |
| past | gaffed |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Gaffs |
Origin of gaff
From Middle English gaffe, from Old French gaffe, from Old Occitan gaf (“hook”), derivative of gafar (“to seize”), from 𐌲𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (giban, “to give”). Doublet of gaffe. Etymology 1, noun sense 5 apparently derives from the idea that the garment tricks or deceives others about the wearer's genitalia.
Perhaps from Old English gafsprǣc (“buffoonery, scurrility; blasphemous or ribald speech”), from Old English gaf (“base, vile, lewd”) + Old English sprǣc (“language, speech, talk”). Compare Old English gaffetung, gafettung (“scoffing, mockery, derision”).
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 from Romani gav (“village”) (whence German Kaff (“village”)).
Words formed from gaff
Phrases with gaff
- gaff rigs
- gaff sails
- penny gaff
- blew the gaff
- tips the gaff
- blown the gaff
- blows the gaff
- stood the gaff
- stands the gaff
- tipped the gaff
- blowing the gaff
- tipping the gaff
1 more phrasesFewer phrases
Words that rhyme with gaff
14 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about gaff
- What does gaff mean?
- Gaff means a tool consisting of a large metal hook with a handle or pole, especially the one used to pull large fish aboard a boat.
- How do you use gaff in a sentence?
- You will be using gaffed cards: a double faced card.
- What part of speech is gaff?
- Gaff can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce gaff?
- Gaff is pronounced /ɡæf/.
- What is the plural of gaff?
- The plural of gaff is gaffs.
Words near gaff in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: gaff (page history and authors); Gaff (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-gaff.ogg.
Cite this entry: “gaff.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/gaff. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.