to call someone's bluff
2
6.3
- idiom
- Informal
:
desafiar a alguien
- If you think he is lying, you should call his bluff and ask for proof of his claims.
- decided to call someone's bluff
- tried to call someone's bluff
- call someone's bluff here
Examples
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Call his bluff.
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Bond will have to go all in to call his bluff.
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Do not call his bluff.
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You could have called his bluff.
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We only have to call his bluff.
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Well, let's call his bluff.
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This time, however, the studios and networks might call the union's bluff.
Blog text (4) -
I say call the Dems' bluff.
Blog text (23) -
I called his bluff, sweetheart, that's all.
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I'm calling his bluff.
Synonyms
33
4.5
To say that something may not be true or right
Challenge someone to a duel because of an insult
Antonyms
How Direct
- Informal
- Informal
2
6.3
1
5.5
- Literature
26
7.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'bluff' (a false show or deception) together with 'call' (to name or confront) makes the overall meaning — to challenge or expose a supposed deception — reasonably inferable from the parts. However, 'call' here has an extended, somewhat idiomatic sense of 'challenge/demand proof' that requires pragmatic inference beyond the prototypical meanings, so the expression is only partially predictable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Call someone's bluff comes from the card game poker. In poker a bluff is pretending to have strong cards and to call someone means matching their bet so they must show their cards. So call someone's bluff means 'challenge someone to prove they are not lying'.