Short takes: Blind-man's bluff

[victor steinbok]

I should have also noted that the verb "to BLUFF" == to blindfold or
hoodwink that appeared in several dialectal dictionaries in the
mid-1800s or so, also makes an appearance in the OED as v.1 1. with a
remark:

1721 in BAILEY: [so in all edd. to 1800. Not in JOHNSON, nor in ASH.]

In fact, it does appear in a couple of other dictionaries--Boyer (all
eds. 1756-1814, French), Holloway (Sussex--possibly source for
Halliwell-Phillipps), Grieb (1847, German), Katsenschmidt (1837,
German), John Kersey (1708),  Elisha Coles (1717, under BLUFFE),
Phillips (OED has 1706, but also other eds, 1720) Chambaud/des
Carrires (1814, French)

But, in all the French and German dictionaries, "bluff" simply
redirects to "blindfold". And Bailey's German/English dictionary does
NOT have BLUFF in this sense.

The Phillips-Kersey-Coles-Bailey line is more interesting, but it is
important to note that their OED predecessor (Ray) is titled "Words
NOT used".

Overall, BLUFF v.1 2. (poker) and 3. would have been more properly
filed under BLUFF v.2. (== become bloated or distended), and perhaps
the distance between v.2 and v.3 is not so great as to have earned
separate articles.

VS-)

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