Word Origins

 

*BLINDMAN’S BUFF

I remember it as "blindman's bluff." I was misled. William Shakespeare probably played this when he was a boy. At least he could have; the children of his day did play it, and were, perhaps, no more gentle in the sport than those in the Twentieth Century. One youngster would consent to be blindfolded and attempt to grab one of the other players, each of whom would push or jostle him/her or, especially, give them a buffet—a slap upon the rump with an open hand. And that, in the language of the period, was a buff, hence the name of the game. 

*Inspired by Charles Funk (1881–1957)