gaff
noun
[ ɡaf ]
• a stick with a hook or barbed spear, for landing large fish.
• a spar to which the head of a fore-and-aft sail is bent.
• "a gaff-rigged cutter"
gaff
verb
• seize or impale with a gaff.
• "the whales are gaffed, speared, or knifed to death"
Origin:
Middle English: from Provençal gaf ‘hook’; related to gaffe.
gaff
noun
• rough treatment or criticism.
• "if wages increase, perhaps we can stand the gaff"
Origin:
early 19th century (in the senses ‘outcry; nonsense’ and in the phrase blow the gaff ‘let out a secret’): of unknown origin.
gaff
noun
• a house, flat, or other building, especially as being a person's home.
• "Gav's new gaff is in McDonald Road"
Origin:
mid 18th century (in sense ‘a fair’): of unknown origin.
