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#205547 - 04/20/12 08:37 AM word of the day: bluff
dathilacha Offline
stranger

Registered: 04/20/12
Posts: 1
any ideas why a word whose etymology is "flat" or "smooth" comes to mean "cliff" or "grove of trees"?

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#205557 - 04/20/12 05:47 PM Re: word of the day: bluff [Re: dathilacha]
Faldage Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/01/00
Posts: 13653
A bluff has a smooth or flat face. The grove of trees could well have a face that is reminiscent of a bluff.


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#205573 - 04/21/12 11:09 AM Re: word of the day: bluff [Re: Faldage]
Rhubarb Commando Offline
old hand

Registered: 11/13/11
Posts: 1029
Loc: Lancaster, UK
So, its bark is worse than its bight?
_________________________
I'm immortal until proven otherwise

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#205579 - 04/21/12 03:13 PM Re: word of the day: bluff [Re: Rhubarb Commando]
BranShea Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 5249
Loc: Netherlands, the Hague
Compliments on your Dutch! From blaf to bark is mistery too, but I know by now language is just like people. No logic.

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