bluet 
3. In ornith., a humming-bird <if the subgenus 
Mojtilinna, as tho Mexican It. Iruriitix, or the ( 'all 
forniaii It. j-iniliisi, one of tlie queen-hummers, 
bluetail (blii'tal). . An American lizard of 
the family Kriiiriilit 1 , Kumin-.i (/uin</ue-liiiiiilii>i 
or fanciii tint, with a lilue tail, inhabiting the 
southern and middle United Slates. It is the 
most northern species of the genus. 
bluetangle (blO'ouw'gl), . The blue buckle- 
hern- of the 1'nited States. Hiii/lns.niriit J'mn- 
itoKtt. Also called ilmi/il/ -Inrri/. 
bluethroat (blo'throt), n. A small sylviine 
bird of the genus Ci/itiicciilii, inhabiting north- 
ern Europe and Asia, and occasionally found 
t \iyanfcitla SHecica}. 
also in Alaska; a kind of redstart or red- 
tailed warbler, having a spot of rich blue on 
the throat. There are two species or varieties, 
C. suecica and C. wolfi. Also called bluebreast 
and liliir-tliniiilril redstart. 
blueweed (blo'wed), n. The viper's bugloss, 
Echiiim vitlgiirr, a foreign weed with snowy 
blue flowers which has been introduced into 
the United States. 
bluewing (blo'wing), . The blue-winged teal 
of North America, (Jucryuedula discors, a very 
common small duck with blue wing-coverts, 
much esteemed for the table. See cut under 
teal. 
bluewood (bld'wud), n. A small tree or shrub, 
Condalia oboritta, of the natural order Khamna- 
eem, found in Texas and westward, often form- 
ing dense chaparral or thickets, it makes an 
effective hedge. The wood is hard and very heavy, of a 
light-red color, and the berries are edible. 
bluey (blo'i), a. [< blue + -y 1 .] Somewhat 
blue; bluish. Southey. 
bluff 1 (bluf ), a. and n. [Origin unknown ; per- 
haps connected with MD. blaf (Kilian), flat, 
broad, as in lilnf aeiisicli t, a broad flat face, blaf- 
faert, one who has u flat broad face, a coin with 
a blank face (see blaffcrt) (also a boaster, but 
in this sense prob. a different word, equiv. to 
mod. D. blaffer, < blaffea, bark, yelp: see bluff). 
The suggested D. origin is favored by the nau- 
tical associations of the word. There is prob. 
no connection with bluff?.] I. a. 1. Having or 
presenting a broad, flattened front, as a ship 
with broad bows and nearly vertical stem. 2. 
Rising abruptly and boldly, as a high bank on 
the shore of a sea, lake, or river ; presenting a 
bold and nearly perpendicular front, as a coast- 
line or a range of low hills. 
The rock Tabra, a bluf, peninsular prominence that juta 
out from the bottom of the I'litf. 
Atkins, Voyage to Guinea, p. 102. 
8. Broad and full : specially applied to a full 
countenance, indicative of frankness and good 
humor. 
His broad, bright eye, and Mujf face, . . . like the sun 
on frost work, melted down displeasure. //. S. Riddfll. 
I lence 4. Rough and hearty ; plain and frank ; 
somewhat abrupt and unconventional in man- 
ner. 
Blu/ Harry broke into the spence, 
And turn'd the cowls adrift. 
Tamyttm, Talking Oak. 
In ripeness of mind and bluff heartiness of expression, 
he [Dryden] takes rank with the best. 
I.<'ii','ll, Among my Books, 1st ser., p. 79. 
5. Blustering ; pompous ; surly ; churlish. [Ob- 
solete or provincial.] 
A pert or bint)' important wight. Armstrong, Taste. 
To Stand bluff t, t.. stand tlrm or stiff. A". K. II. 
II. . [First used in the American colonies 
in the 18th century.] A hill, bank, or headland 
601 
with a steep, broad face; a high bank prevent 
ing a steep or nearly pei-pemlieular front, 
especially one on the 'shore of a sea, lake, or 
river; also, a steep rise between bottom-land 
and a higher table-lam 1. 
Bt-ach, MM/, and a\e, a<U, a ' Whitlier. 
Round the hills from Ww/to /. 
Tennyson, (iolden Year, 
bluff-' (bluf), r. [E. dial, also l,l,ifl, blindfold; 
origin uncertain, perhaps from two or more 
sources. The sense of 'deceive or impose up- 
on' may come from that of 'blindfold, hood- 
wink,' but cf. Sc. "get the bluff," be taken in; 
prob. of LG. origin: LG. Vtytn, nrlilnffi //. l>. 
rn-liluffen, > G. rerbliiffen = Dan. fitrbliiffe, baf- 
fle, confound, stupefy. In popular apprehen- 
sion prob. often associated with bluf 1 , it., as if 
' assume a bluff or bold front.'] I. trans. If. 
To blindfold or hoodwink. Bailey. 2. In the 
game of poker, to deceive or impose upon (an 
opponent) by betting heavily on a worthless 
hand, or by acting in such a way as to cause 
the other players to believe that one's hand 
is stronger than it really is, in order to make 
them throw up their cards or stay out of the 
betting. Hence 3. To daunt or deter from 
the accomplishment of some design by boast- 
ful language or demeanor; repulse or frighten 
off by assuming a bold front, or by a make- 
believe show of resources, strength, etc. : fre- 
quently followed by off: as, to bluff off & dun. 
[Chiefly U. S.] 
II. intrann. 1. In the game of poker, to bet 
heavily and with an air of confident assurance 
on a poor hand, in order to deceive an oppo- 
nent and cause him to throw up his cards. 
Hence 2. To assume a bold, boastful front, 
so as to hoodwink an opponent as to one's 
real resources, strength, etc. 
bluff'- (bluf), . [E. dial, also bluffer, a blinker: 
see the verb.] 1. A blinker for a horse. 2. A 
game at cards j poker. [U. S.] 3. The act of 
deceiving or influencing, as in the game of 
poker, by a show of confident assurance and 
boastful betting or language; hence, language 
or demeanor intended to blind, frighten, or 
daunt an opponent in anything. 
bluff-bowed (bluf 'boud), a. Naut., broad, full, 
and square in the bows. 
bluffer (bluf 'er), . One who bluffs. 
bluff-headed (bluf'hed'ed), a. Ifaut., having 
an upright stem, or one with but little rake 
forward. 
bluffly (bluf 'li), adv. In a bluff manner; blunt- 
ly; in an unconventional or offhand way. 
bluffness (bluf'nes), n. The quality of being 
bluff; blunt ness: frankness; abruptness. 
No such bluff III'M of meaning is implied in the Greek. 
Bushnell, Sermons on Living Subjects. 
bluffy (bluf'i), a. [< bluffl, n., + -yi.] 1. Hav- 
ing the character of a bluff ; precipitous or steep. 
We could see the syenites we had just left again crop- 
ping out much less bluffii, and terminating the table-land 
to the eastward by a continuous line, trending generally 
northwest and southeast. Kane, Sec. Grinn. Exp., II. 343. 
2. Inclining to bluffness in appearance or man- 
ner. 
bluft (bluft), r. f. [5 dial.: see bluff*.] To 
blindfold. [Prov. Eng.] 
blufter(bluf'ter).. [< bliift + -eri.] A blink- 
er. [Prov. Eng.] 
bluid (blttd), n. A Scotch form of blood. 
bluing (blo'ing), n. [Verbal n. of blue, r.] 1. 
The act of making blue ; specifically, the pro- 
cess of giving a blue color to iron and other 
metals by heating. 2. A blue tint given to 
iron by boiling in a bath of hyposulphite of soda 
and acetate of lead. 3. The indigo, soluble 
Prussian blue, or other material, used in the 
laundry to give a bluish tint to linen. 
Also spelled blueing. 
bluish (blo'ish), a. [< blue + -wfti.] Blue in 
a small degree ; somewhat blue. 
bluishly (bld'ish-li), adv. In a bluish manner. 
bluishness (bl6'ish-nes), it. The quality of be- 
ing bluish ; a small degree of blue color. 
bluism (blo'izm), n. [< blue, a., 6, n., 9, + 
-i.nn.~] Blue-stockingisin. 
A wife so well known in the gay and learned world, 
without one bit of ... Unixm about herself. 
T. Hook, Oilbert Carney. II. iv. 
blumanget, . See blanc-mnniji; 
blunder (blun'der), c. [< ML. blondren, blun- 
blunderbuss 
the doubtful sense of 'stagger, stumble,' < led. 
liliiinln. doze, = S\v. lihniilii = Dan. liliniilr. doze. 
slumber; <!'. [eel. liliimllir = Sw. Ilan. lilmnl. ;< 
doze, imp. <!.////. | I. iii/nnir.. 1. To m..\, 
or act blindly, stupidly, or without direction or 
steady guidance; flounder; stumble: frequent- 
ly with on or nlinii/. 
Bayard the blinde, 
That Uniulrflh forth 
Chauref, ( 'uiion 's Yeoman n Tale, 1. 408. 
It is one thing U> forget matter of fart anil another t" 
Uniuleraini the reason of it. >., 11. L'Entrange. 
Here lie I, 'lights the weekly news to con, 
And mingle comments as he blunder 
Crabbe, The Si --|iap< r. 
2. To make a gross mistake, especially through 
mental confusion; err widely or stupidly. 
Was there a man dismay 'd? 
Not tho' the soldier knew 
Some one had bluiuter'd. 
Tennyion, charge of the Light Brigade. 
II. trim*. If. To mix (things) confusedly; 
confuse. 
lie blunders and confounds all these together. 
XtiUingJleft. 
2t. To confound; confuse; distract; cause to 
make blunders: as, "to blunder an adversary," 
IHtton, On the Resurrection, p. 63. 3t. To in- 
jure or destroy by blundering; mismanage: 
as, "to darken or blunder the cause," Ditto*, 
On the Resurrection, p. 211. 4. To do or 
make faultily or erroneously; make mistakes 
in through ignorance or stupidity; bungle. 
[Rare.] 
[Inscriptions] usually of very liarbaroui work and blun- 
dered. B. V. Head, llistoria Numormn, p. 687. 
Some flue pilgrim-flasks of blue and green have WMII- 
dered copies of hieroglyphs and representations of Egyp- 
tian deities incised in the moist clay. 
Encye. Brit., XIX. 606. 
The banker's clerk who was directed to sum my cash- 
account, I'!"*"!, >/ it three times. teott, Antiquary, vi. 
6. To ntter thoughtlessly or in a blundering 
manner; blurt out: generally with out: as, to 
blunder out an excuse. 
blunder (blun'der), H. [< ME. blunder, blonder, 
error, misfortune, < blunderen, bloiidren, blun- 
der, v.] A mistake made through precipitance 
or mental confusion ; a gross or stupid mistake. 
It is worse than a crime ; it is a Munder. 
Memoirs of FoucM (trans.). 
The "Magnalla" has great merits; it has, also, fatal 
defects. In its mighty chaos of fables and blundrrt and 
misrepresentations are of course lodged many single facts 
of the utmost value, if. C. Tyler, Hist. Am. i. Lit., II. SS. 
= Syn. Error, SUttakf, Blunder, Bull. An errar is a wan- 
dering from truth, primarily in impression, judgment, or 
calculation, and, by extension of the idea, in conduct ; it 
may be a state. A mistake is a false judgment or choice ; 
it does not, as error sometimes does, imply moral ohlinuity, 
the defect Iwiug placed wholly 1 u the wisdom of the actor, 
and in its treatment of this defect the word is altogether 
gentle. Blunder is a strong word for a mistake which is 
stupid, a gross error in action or speech. A bull is a blun- 
der in language^ Involving generally a very obvious and 
comical contradiction ; but the word is sometimes applied 
to any particularly inapt or ludicrously Inappropriate re- 
mark. 
Speculative error*, which have no influence on the life 
and conversation, cannot be near so dangerous as those 
errors which lead men out of the way of their duty. 
J. Blair, Sermon, In Tylers Amer. Lit., II. 284 
In general, pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes. 
Rtulrin, Tnie and Beautiful. 
It was the advice of Schomberg to an historian, that he 
should avoid being particular in the drawing up of an 
army . . . ; for that he had observed notorious blunder* 
and absurdities committed by writers net conversant in 
the art of war. Additwn. 
Lord Orford pronounced this to be the liest bull he had 
ever heard : " I hate that woman," said a gentleman, look- 
ing at one who had been his nurse, "I hate that woman, 
for she changed me at nurse." 
Mis* Edgevwth, Essay on Irish Bulls. 
blunderbuss (bluu'der-bus), . [In 17th cen- 
tury also blunilcrbus and btunderbuuli ; appar. a 
modification, prob. with humorous allusion to 
its blundering or random action, of D. dondcr- 
bus (= Q. donnerbiichse), a blunderbuss, < don- 
der (= G. donner = E. tliunder) + bus, a box, 
urn, barrel of a gun, same as buis, a tube, pipe, 
= G. biichse, a box, pot, barrel of a gun, pipe, 
etc., = E. fcoj: 2 . Cf. the equiv. G. bluiidri-liiirli.il; 
n, a freq. form of uncertain origin, perhaps 
of double origin: (1) prop, blondrrn, freq. of 
liloHilt'ii. lilinidi'H. mix (see bland 1 , r. ); ('_') prop. 
blunitrrn. t'req. of bluiitli-n, which occurs once in 
in imitation of the E., but prob. with a thought 
of jilunder, baggage, lumber (E. plunder), in al- 
lusion to its heaviness. A charter of James I. 
(1617) mentions " plantier-buxsr, alias blantcr- 
bus&e," as equiv. to harqucbuxe, but the first ele- 
ment here is different, ult. < L. jilnnlun-, plant 
(fix). Cf. Sc. blunyierd, an old gun, any old 
rusty weapon.] 1. A short gun or firearm 
with a large bore and funnel-shaped muzzle, 
capable of holding a number of balls or slugs, 
and intended to be used at a limited range 
