in the buff
7
9.3
- idiom
- NSFW
- Thank God we don't see Camila in the buff!
- seeing her in the buff
- walking around in the buff
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Watch on YouTubeAnd Cuomo, the younger brother of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is seemingly seen in a screen grab screen grab strutting his stuff in the buff.
- And Cuomo, the younger brother of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is seemingly seen in a screen grab screen grab strutting his stuff in the buff.
Examples
-
Who cared what a middle-aged German woman might look like in the buff?
Fiction book (1998) -
"I'm sure some people wouldn't mind if you pranced around in the buff, my dear.
Fiction book (2001) -
When he looked up, she was standing there in the buff with the office door shut.
Fiction book (1993) -
Joe comes into the room in the buff.
Fiction book (2001) -
I know it's ridiculous to dislike her for parading around in the buff.
Fiction book (1996) -
Another pretty boy in his kitchen, in the buff, squeezing citrus and singing Sondheim.
Fiction book (1999) -
As soon as I was in the buff, I jumped in front of him with a loud "Ta-da!" and the entire room burst into fits of hysterical laughter.
Fiction book (2000) -
It's quite liberating to walk around in the buff during warm summer days.
-
She decided to sunbathe in the buff to get an even tan.
-
He felt a bit shy being in the buff at the beach, but it was just the two of us.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Not wearing any clothes on the body
161
3.7
Not wearing any clothes
32
1.9
A person who is not wearing any clothes
26
8.5
Completely without clothes
17
1.9
Not wearing clothes on a part of the body
14
1.8
Not covered by clothes and showing skin
9
4.6
Completely without any clothes
4
3.7
Not wearing any clothes
3
9.9
Completely without clothes
3
9.6
Completely without clothes with the bottom showing
2
9.9
Completely without clothes on
2
9.0
Not wearing any clothes
1
8.7
Completely naked
1
9.5
Having no clothes on
1
9.9
A person who has no clothes on
1
8.8
A person who has no clothes on
1
7.4
Completely without clothes like at birth
1
7.5
Not wearing any clothes
1
9.9
Completely without clothes
1
8.4
Not wearing any clothes
Completely without clothes, as when someone is born
Antonyms
How Clothed
- Formal
1
6.9
765
1.0
- NSFW
1
4.6
- NSFW
11
6.5
- NSFW
7
9.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
in + the + buff
The meaning ‘naked’ is not transparently built from the constituents: 'in' and 'the' are grammatical markers and 'buff' does not commonly denote nakedness in its literal senses known to learners. The phrase is an idiomatic lexicalized expression whose meaning is unpredictable from the parts, so a B1 learner who only knows the words would likely not infer the correct sense.
Etymology
In the buff probably comes from the word buff, which meant a pale brown leather or colour like bare skin; someone 'in the buff' was seen as being in that skin colour with no clothes. So today in the buff means 'naked'.