Word Confusion: Gaff vs Gaffe vs Gaffer

Posted March 21, 2024 by kddidit in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

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I had originally planned on exploring the word confusion between that heterographic pair gaff vs gaffe, but . . . you know how I love those derivatives and gaffer seemed to fit in there, hence this confusion of gaff vs gaffe vs gaffer.

A gaff is primarily a hook (for fishing, climbing something, sailing, etc.) but can also be a type of tape; a swindle; criticism or abuse; a strap to hold down a man’s, ahem, equipment; or a person’s home or a place of entertainment. Who knew gaff was such a busy word?

A gaffe is a social blunder or embarrassment.

A gaffer is an old man — a gammer is the female equivalent. Being a boss or master evolved from being an old man, which eventually evolved into an electrician in charge of theatrical or television productions, who happens to use a special type of tape.

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Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Gaff	Gaffe	Gaffer
Gaff-rigged Sloop Off Cap Ferret by Pierre (Paris) is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.	Embarrassment is under the CC0 1.0 license, via PxHere. — Must be some gaffe!	Patrick Shellenberger in a Production Photograph on the set of Dim Sum, A little Bit of Heart, 1983 in San Francisco, California, is Nancy Wong‘s own work and is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — The gaffer hard at work.
Part of Grammar:
Noun ¹, ², ³, ⁴, ⁵; Verb, transitive ¹ Plural for the noun: gaffs Gerund: gaffing Third person present verb: gaffs Past tense or past participle: gaffed Present participle: gaffing	Noun Plural: gaffes	Noun ¹, ², ³, ⁴; Verb, transitive ⁴ Plural for the noun: gaffers Third person present verb: gaffers Past tense or past participle: gaffered Present participle: gaffering The tape is also known as gaff tape, gaffa tape, gaffer’s tape, spike tape
Noun: A stick with a hook or barbed spear, for landing large fish ¹ A butcher’s hook A sharp metal spur or spike fastened to the leg of a gamecock A climbing iron or its steel point A tight-fitting undergarment designed to secure the male genitals between the legs and create the appearance of a smooth crotch [Sailing] A spar to which the head of a fore-and-aft sail is bent [US English; informal; slang] Rough treatment or criticism ² Abuse [Slang] A trick or gimmick, especially one used in a swindle or to rig a game Cheat Fleece Defraud [British English; informal; blow the gaff] Reveal a plot or secret ³ [Chiefly US and Canadian; slang; stand the gaff] To endure ridicule, difficulties, etc. [Ireland; Britain, especially Manchester, Cockney, and Glaswegian; slang] A house, apartment, or other building, especially as being a person’s home ⁴ [Chiefly British; a.k.a. penny-gaff] A public place of entertainment, especially a cheap or disreputable music hall or theater in Victorian England [Informal; uncountable] Clipping of gaffer tape ⁵ Verb, transitive: To hook or land (a fish) using a gaff ¹ To equip (a gamecock) with a gaff [Slang] To take in or defraud Swindle To rig or fix in order to cheat Verb, transitive: [Informal] To affix gaffer tape to or cover with gaffer tape ⁴	Noun: An unintentional act or remark causing embarrassment to its originator Social blunder Faux pas	Noun: The chief electrician in a motion-picture or television production unit ¹ [Informal] An old man ² A rustic [British English; informal] A person in charge of others ³ A boss A master glass blower [Informal; uncountable] Clipping of gaffer tape ⁴ Verb, transitive: [Informal] To affix gaffer tape to or cover with gaffer tape ⁴
Examples:
Noun: He’ll need a gaff for a fish that size! Chester completed his sailor costume with a gaff borrowed from his uncle’s fishing boat. She was a sweet gaff-rigged cutter. That gaff will need to be tightened before the fight. He was about to blow the gaff on the conspiracy. If wages increase, perhaps we can stand the gaff. All the gaff he had to take made him even more reclusive. The boy took a lot of gaff at home. John’s new gaff is on McDonald Road. We’re going ’round the gaff to see the new show. “Pole climbers have relatively short gaffs (approx. 1-1/2 inches). Tree climbers have relatively long gaffs (approx. 3-1/2 inches for permanent gaff type, approx. 2-1/2 inches for replaceable gaff type) so they can penetrate tree bark and reach solid trunk wood” (Climbers). The sideshow feat was just a gaff, but the audience was too proud to admit they’d been fooled. “Ensure access to clothing and toiletry items consistent with a person’s gender identity, and facilitate access to gender-affirming items such as binders, wigs, and gaffs” (Barnes). She bought a roll of black gaff to tape down the loose cords. Verb, transitive: The whales are gaffed, speared, or knifed to death. He gaffed the cock. Can you believe they gaffed the dice? He knew that the carnival games had been gaffed. “I gaffed down the sleeves to my lens hoods instead of just relying on the drawstring to hold it in place” (Yau).	Noun: It was an unforgivable social gaffe. His sudden outburst of anger was an unfortunate gaffe. Posey made a gaffe when she accidentally called Chester by the wrong name. “After an embarrassing administrative gaffe, a few zany candidates, and nationwide anticipation, New York City’s final vote tally for the mayoral primaries is in” (Kosar).	Noun: The gaffer is truly one of the most important roles on any production set, as they are “officially the head of the lighting and power department and is usually responsible for the setting up, handling, and powering of all of the lighting needed for a production” (Aldredge). Ask old gaffer down t’ pub. The Old Gaffer is not his grandpa or uncle. Mr Franks is the gaffer in charge of this group. A friend is aiming to be a gaffer — she already does beautiful glasswork. Verb, transitive: Tony gaffered the cords in place. He’s gaffering the prop in place. Paul, can you gaffer that mixing board?
History of the Word:
Middle English from the Provençal gaf meaning hook; related to gaffe. Early 19th century, in the senses outcry; nonsense and in the phrase blow the gaff meaning let out a secret and is of unknown origin. Early 19th century and of unknown origin. Mid-18th century, in sense a fair and is of unknown origin. 1959 and invented by Ross Lowell, director, cinematographer, and founder of Lowel-Light.	Early 20th century, from the French, literally meaning boathook, from the Provençal gaf (see gaff 1), used colloquially to mean blunder.	1920s Possibly earlier than 1575 and probably a contraction of godfather; compare with gammer, a probable contraction of godmother. One possibility is that the term originally referred to the moving of overhead equipment, or before electricity and in Shakespearean-era play theatres, lighting louvres to control lighting levels using a long pole with a wide grappling hook on its end, called a gaff. Later, it became used more generally for a master or governor. Definitely by 1841. 1959 and invented by Ross Lowell, director, cinematographer, and founder of Lowel-Light.

Gaff

Gaffe

Gaffer

A sailboat sailing along a coastline in choppy waters.

Gaff-rigged Sloop Off Cap Ferret by Pierre (Paris) is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.

A boy wearing a white button-down shirt and a burgundy vest is sitting in a metal chair with his hands covering his face.

Embarrassment is under the CC0 1.0 license, via PxHere.

—

Must be some gaffe!

A black-and-white photo of a man adjusting lighting and surrounded by folds of fabric.

Patrick Shellenberger in a Production Photograph on the set of Dim Sum, A little Bit of Heart, 1983 in San Francisco, California, is Nancy Wong‘s own work and is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.

—

The gaffer hard at work.

Part of Grammar:

Noun ¹, ², ³, ⁴, ⁵; Verb, transitive ¹

Plural for the noun: gaffs
Gerund: gaffing

Third person present verb: gaffs
Past tense or past participle: gaffed
Present participle: gaffing

Noun

Plural: gaffes

Noun ¹, ², ³, ⁴; Verb, transitive ⁴

Plural for the noun: gaffers

Third person present verb: gaffers
Past tense or past participle: gaffered
Present participle: gaffering

The tape is also known as gaff tape, gaffa tape, gaffer’s tape, spike tape

Noun:
A stick with a hook or barbed spear, for landing large fish ¹

A butcher’s hook

A sharp metal spur or spike fastened to the leg of a gamecock

A climbing iron or its steel point

A tight-fitting undergarment designed to secure the male genitals between the legs and create the appearance of a smooth crotch

[Sailing] A spar to which the head of a fore-and-aft sail is bent

[US English; informal; slang] Rough treatment or criticism ²

Abuse

[Slang] A trick or gimmick, especially one used in a swindle or to rig a game

Cheat
Fleece
Defraud

[British English; informal; blow the gaff] Reveal a plot or secret ³

[Chiefly US and Canadian; slang; stand the gaff] To endure ridicule, difficulties, etc.

[Ireland; Britain, especially Manchester, Cockney, and Glaswegian; slang] A house, apartment, or other building, especially as being a person’s home ⁴

[Chiefly British; a.k.a. penny-gaff] A public place of entertainment, especially a cheap or disreputable music hall or theater in Victorian England

[Informal; uncountable] Clipping of gaffer tape ⁵

Verb, transitive:
To hook or land (a fish) using a gaff ¹

To equip (a gamecock) with a gaff

[Slang] To take in or defraud

Swindle
To rig or fix in order to cheat

Verb, transitive:
[Informal] To affix gaffer tape to or cover with gaffer tape ⁴

Noun:
An unintentional act or remark causing embarrassment to its originator

Social blunder
Faux pas

Noun:
The chief electrician in a motion-picture or television production unit ¹

[Informal] An old man ²

A rustic

[British English; informal] A person in charge of others ³

A boss

A master glass blower

[Informal; uncountable] Clipping of gaffer tape ⁴

Verb, transitive:
[Informal] To affix gaffer tape to or cover with gaffer tape ⁴

Examples:

Noun:
He’ll need a gaff for a fish that size!

Chester completed his sailor costume with a gaff borrowed from his uncle’s fishing boat.

She was a sweet gaff-rigged cutter.

That gaff will need to be tightened before the fight.

He was about to blow the gaff on the conspiracy.

If wages increase, perhaps we can stand the gaff.

All the gaff he had to take made him even more reclusive.

The boy took a lot of gaff at home.

John’s new gaff is on McDonald Road.

We’re going ’round the gaff to see the new show.

“Pole climbers have relatively short gaffs (approx. 1-1/2 inches). Tree climbers have relatively long gaffs (approx. 3-1/2 inches for permanent gaff type, approx. 2-1/2 inches for replaceable gaff type) so they can penetrate tree bark and reach solid trunk wood” (Climbers).

The sideshow feat was just a gaff, but the audience was too proud to admit they’d been fooled.

“Ensure access to clothing and toiletry items consistent with a person’s gender identity, and facilitate access to gender-affirming items such as binders, wigs, and gaffs” (Barnes).

She bought a roll of black gaff to tape down the loose cords.

Verb, transitive:
The whales are gaffed, speared, or knifed to death.

He gaffed the cock.

Can you believe they gaffed the dice?

He knew that the carnival games had been gaffed.

“I gaffed down the sleeves to my lens hoods instead of just relying on the drawstring to hold it in place” (Yau).

Noun:
It was an unforgivable social gaffe.

His sudden outburst of anger was an unfortunate gaffe.

Posey made a gaffe when she accidentally called Chester by the wrong name.

“After an embarrassing administrative gaffe, a few zany candidates, and nationwide anticipation, New York City’s final vote tally for the mayoral primaries is in” (Kosar).

Noun:
The gaffer is truly one of the most important roles on any production set, as they are “officially the head of the lighting and power department and is usually responsible for the setting up, handling, and powering of all of the lighting needed for a production” (Aldredge).

Ask old gaffer down t’ pub.

The Old Gaffer is not his grandpa or uncle.

Mr Franks is the gaffer in charge of this group.

A friend is aiming to be a gaffer — she already does beautiful glasswork.

Verb, transitive:
Tony gaffered the cords in place.

He’s gaffering the prop in place.

Paul, can you gaffer that mixing board?

History of the Word:

Middle English from the Provençal gaf meaning hook; related to gaffe.
Early 19th century, in the senses outcry; nonsense and in the phrase blow the gaff meaning let out a secret and is of unknown origin.
Early 19th century and of unknown origin.
Mid-18th century, in sense a fair and is of unknown origin.
1959 and invented by Ross Lowell, director, cinematographer, and founder of Lowel-Light.

Early 20th century, from the French, literally meaning boathook, from the Provençal gaf (see gaff 1), used colloquially to mean blunder.

1920s
Possibly earlier than 1575 and probably a contraction of godfather; compare with gammer, a probable contraction of godmother.
One possibility is that the term originally referred to the moving of overhead equipment, or before electricity and in Shakespearean-era play theatres, lighting louvres to control lighting levels using a long pole with a wide grappling hook on its end, called a gaff.
Later, it became used more generally for a master or governor.

Definitely by 1841.
1959 and invented by Ross Lowell, director, cinematographer, and founder of Lowel-Light.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Gaff vs Gaffe vs Gaffer

Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.

Aldredge, Jourdan. “What is a Gaffer?” Blogs. Soundstripe. 11 Mar 2022. Accessed 20 Mar 2024. <https://www.soundstripe.com/blogs/what-is-a-gaffer>.

Apple Dictionary.com

Barnes, Emily. “Transgender Woman in New York Reaches Landmark Settlement with County Jail After Great Discrimination.” USA Today. 27 Aug 2023. Accessed 20 Mar 2024. <https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/08/25/makyyla-holland-transgender-woman-new-york-settlement-broome-county-jail/70685645007/>.

“Climbers (Aluminum / Steel / Titanium).” Buckingham Mfg. 16 Jan 1998. Updated 15 Feb 2019. Accessed 20 Mar 2024. <https://buckinghammfg.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CLIMBWARN_021519.pdf>.

Dictionary.com: gaff

The Free Dictionary: gaff

“Gaff.” Wikipedia. 29 Feb 2024. Accessed 20 Mar 2024. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gaff>.

“Gaffer (occupation).” Wikipedia. 6 Feb 2024. Accessed 20 Mar 2024. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaffer_(occupation)>.

Kosar, Kevin and Elayne Allen. “New York’s Mayoral Race Shows that Ranked Choice Voting Works — Even with Snafus.” Time. 10 July 2021. Accessed 20 Mar 2024. <https://time.com/6079113/new-yorks-mayoral-race-shows-ranked-choice-voting-works/>.

Merriam-Webster: gaff

Yau, Kai-Huei. “Shoot Before You Dye.” Tri-City Herald. 19 July 2013. Accessed 20 Mar 2024. <https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/article32133930.html>.

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Pinterest Photo Credits

Bosaki is MateuszF93‘s own work and is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license and Happy Old Man by Marg is under the CC BY 2.0 license are both via Wikimedia Commons. Scan 000008 from “Miss Bobbie, etc.”, 1897, is in the public domain courtesy of the British Library, via Public Media Domain.

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