Blind man’s buff/bluff

This well-known children’s game dates from the late 1500s and there is no doubt the original name is ‘blind man’s buff’ and not ‘blind man’s bluff’. The latter version is first cited from the mid-19th century and is most probably a mistaken, linguistic corruption that has since gained legitimate currency. So, what is a ‘buff’? ‘Buff’ is an obsolete word, except in the name of this game, and means a ‘push’ or a ‘shove’. It derives from the Old French buffe meaning the same thing. The word ‘buffet’, in the sense of a boat ‘buffeted’ by the waves, derives from the same source.