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Chris -- 2018-04-11
Google hits on July 7, 2007
793 “blow the gaff”
420 “blow the gaffe”
Analysis by Joe Krozel
I came across the expression “blow the gaff” for the first time in a book of idioms, and an online source describes it as a British, old-fashioned idiom. (Even so, few of the online usages seem to originate from UK sources). A gaff is defined as a hoax, and the expression “blow the gaff” means “to tattle on someone,” i.e., reveal their hoax … reveal that they are doing something secretive.
I don’t know whether “gaffe” is just a misspelling of “gaff” or whether it’s a legitimate basis for an eggcorn. A gaffe is a social blunder. Perhaps some equate “gaffe” with the embarrassment of having one’s secret behavior exposed. Just perhaps.
Examples:
Response: The Seattle Pacific University Magazine… all the Great Catholic Conspiracy to hush it all up in case it should blow the gaffe on the system of power and control which the church has built up. ...
www.spu.edu/response/summer2k5/features/davincicode.asp – 48k – Cached – Similar pages
Affair way to spice up marriage Sunday Herald, The – Find ArticlesI am terribly tempted to blow the gaffe on her dalliance and bring the deceit to an end. What do you think? Advertisement …
findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_19990829/ai_n13941092 – 32k – Cached – Similar pages
Theatre: Resounding romp with a dash of reality Independent, The …The naivete of this country creature hilariously threatens to blow the gaffe on the whole game of female subterfuge. Unable to stand the incipient shame, ...
findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19980326/ai_n14145175 – 29k – Cached – Similar pages
Teblog: A journey into social mediaPublished Dec 2005 as “Blogs and wikis could blow the gaffe on you”. Deep web to be surfaced through XML Published Jan 2006 as “Information on the fly is …
teblog.typepad.com/david_tebbutt/2006/03/a_journey_into_.html – 30k – Cached – Similar pages
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