BLUFF

adj. & n. --adj. 1 (of a cliff, or a ship's bows) having a vertical or steep broad front. 2 (of a person or manner) blunt, frank, hearty. --n. a steep cliff or headland. øøbluffly adv. (in sense 2 of adj.). bluffness n. (in sense 2 of adj.). [17th-c. Naut. word: orig. unkn.]