Definition of "gaff"

When Leonard finally hauls up a cod of seventy-five centimeters, probably seven years old, a typical catch ten years ago, they all joke, "Oh my God, get the gaff!"

1997, Mark Kurlansky, Cod: a Biography of the Fish That Changed the World

This may sound strange to readers who know little about nudes but many female impersonators, or femme-mimics, work au naturel—except for a gaff, a bra, body makeup, jewelry, and a wig (on their head). See! Semi-nude!!

1964, Kenneth Marlowe, Mr. Madam: Confessions of a Male Madam‎, Los Angeles: Sherbourne Press, page 17

Sissy maids may be required to wear a gaff to disguise the male genitals, and a dominant may wish a slave to wear it on a daily basis.

1996, Christina Abernathy, Miss Abernathy's Concise Slave Training Manual‎, San Francisco: Greenery Press, page 35

Vicky is a pre-operative MTF transsexual […] Wearing feminine underwear over her gaff in bed helps her to redefine her absence of female genitalia during sex (sexuality) in terms of it being her 'time of the month', as she jokes to Sean [her first boyfriend].

2006, Richard Ekins, Dave King, The Transgender Phenomenon, Sage Publications, page 227

When the operator began losing, he gaffed the wheel and then the patron had no chance to win. With his secret device an experienced grifter could stop the wheel at will on any number.

1993, Betty Lou Wolfe, Marian Jean Gray, The Way We Were: Reflections from the 1930's, page 23

However, this apathy will quickly disappear if it is learned the friendly game involves marked (gaffed) cards.

1977, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, volume 46, number 9, page 8

You will be using gaffed cards: a double faced card.

1989, Penn & Teller's Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends, page 96

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

2013 July 19, Kai-Huei Yau, “Shoot before you dye”, in Tri-City Herald‎, archived from the original on 20 February 2020

"Numbers one, two, and five engines have broken down, sir," he called. "Shall we force the remaining three?" / "We can do nothing else," I bellowed into the transmitter. / "They won't stand the gaff, sir," he returned. / "Can you suggest a better plan?" I asked. / "No, sir," he replied. / "Then give them the gaff, lieutenant," I shouted back, and hung up the receiver.

1916, Edgar Rice Burrows, Beyond Thirty (aka The Lost Continent)‎, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2008

"Steady on, mate. How was I to know this was your gaff? I was lookin' for somewhere to kip."

1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 56

And like I said, I was so fuck-faced that I forgot I'd moved and let myself back into my old gaff.

1993, Tristan Hawkins, Pepper, London: Flamingo, page 106

Am I alone in feeling smug (if slatternly) about the news that super-clean homes are a breeding ground for infection? Apparently, all that bleach is bad not just for germs but for children's immune systems, too, and paradoxically causes more disease than it prevents. Not round my gaff. Oh no. My standards of housekeeping are so abysmally low that my eldest daughter was three years old before she even developed a temperature.

2015 April 4, Judith Woods, “I knew it! Spring cleaning is bad for your family's health [print version: Vindicated at last! It's healthier to be a slatternly housewife, p. 28]”, in The Daily Telegraph‎, archived from the original on 9 April 2015

Man will enter the gaf with crownGun shot spin his head right round

2019 April 30, “The Godfather”, Ink (lyrics)‎, 0:37–0:40

The term ‘free gaf’ is music to any teenage ears in Dublin, while the term ‘wreak the gaf’ should fill any parent with dread. The term ‘gaf’ means ‘house,’ so when parents are away […]

2019 November 7, Erike Sanker, “20 mad Dublin slang phrases that only make sense to locals”, in Ireland Before You Die (IB4UD)‎

Significantly, the setting is a gaff, a low, illegal theatre, and not one of the legitimate East-End stages.

2004, Kerry Powell, The Cambridge Companion to Victorian and Edwardian Theatre, page 273