Gaff, Gaffe, Guff!
With an eyeful of skyline in front of him, holding the gaff in his left hand and dipping his feet into the icy waters of the river he recounted the gaffes of his and others but in a lighter mood.
Mom, give me the gaff, the son shouted before getting out from his bed for angling.
Go, and get it. I had enough of your gaffs and gaffes, said the mother.
Gaff is a noun. Gaff is a tool. Anglers and fishermen carry a gaff to pull a large fish out of the water to the shore or onto the boat. Gaff is an iron hook attached to a pole, a hook attacked to a handle and used to land large fish to the shore or to the boat, in ships gaff is a spar attached to the mast and used to extend the upper edge of a sail, a metal spike fastened to the leg of a gamecock (cockfightings!), a climbing hook used by telephone and electric line workers. In Britain gaff refers to a cheap place of amusement where drinking, singing, and dancing takes place. As a verb, gaff refers to hook or land a fish using a gaff; informally it refers to defraud or swindle; to hook with a gaff (he gaffed at it). Blow the gaff is a slang phrase which means to reveal a secret.
Gaff also refers to undergarment used by transvestites or transgender (cross-dressers) to hide their genitals by using gaff panties or thong gaffs.
Gaffe is a social blunder. Gaffe is an unintentional act or remark that causes embarrassment. Gaffe is a blunder. Gaffe is an indiscreet remark. Gaffe is an indiscreet deed. Gaffe is a faux pas.
He wore sports shoes for a formal dinner but realized that it was a gaffe when he noticed others wearing formal shoes.
It is not uncommon to hear and gaffes on television screens especially when anchors were not able to pronounce certain names.
In 2014, a television anchor was sacked for her gaffe which was she referred to Chinese President Xi Jinping as “Eleven Jinping”. She was confused with Xi’s name with the Roman numerals XI.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India was embarrassed when its gaffe was highlighted by the media on 5 May 2015. The gaffe was it repeated exactly what the UPA-led government said about Dawood Ibrahim on 7 May 2013: a copy-paste job by the Home Ministry official.
Journalists have an eye and an ear for political and celebrity’s gaffes.
Guff is a foolish talk, foolish idea
