blindman's bluff
- noun
- /blaɪndmənz blʌf/
:
el juego del pañuelo
- The children played blindman's bluff in the garden, laughing as they dodged the seeker.
Examples
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During the party, we decided to play a quick game of blindman's bluff.
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He caught his sister while playing blindman's bluff, but couldn't guess who she was.
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Let's play blindman's bluff at the party!
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Do you want to play blindman's bluff?
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The kids played blindman's bluff in the backyard, laughing as one child tried to catch the others while blindfolded.
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During recess, we enjoyed a game of blindman's bluff, taking turns being the one who was blindfolded.
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At the birthday party, everyone joined in a lively game of blindman's bluff, giggling as they dodged the person trying to tag them.
Synonyms
48
1.0
A children's game where one child closes their eyes, counts, then finds the others
5
1.3
A children's game where one person counts with eyes closed and finds hidden players
A children's game where a blindfolded player tries to catch and name other players
Surface Forms
Morphology
blindman's + bluff
The overall meaning ('a blindfolded children's game') is not derivable from the visible constituents: a learner who knows 'blind', 'man' and 'bluff' would likely interpret 'bluff' as 'deceive' and not infer a game where someone is blindfolded and tries to catch others. The phrase is idiomatic/historical (often spelled 'blindman's buff') with a sense that has shifted and is therefore unpredictable to B1 learners unfamiliar with the expression.
Etymology
Blindman's bluff comes from the simple scene where one player is blindfolded, the blind man, while the others try to sneak past or trick him. The word bluff here means 'a trick', so the name shows a blind player trying to catch people who are fooling him, which is why it means the children's game with a blindfolded seeker.