buff

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buff

Showing muscle definition, usually in an attractive or appealing way. There are so many buff guys at this gym that it's hard to concentrate on working out! Can you believe how buff I look after just three sessions with the personal trainer?

buff down

To make a solid surface (such as metal, wood, or plastic) smooth by removing imperfections with the application of a strong and consistent frictional force, especially from a buffing wheel. Somebody scratched my car, so I'll have to take it to the shop to get it buffed down.

See also: buff, down

buff out

1. To remove or smooth out imperfections from a solid surface, such as metal, wood, or plastic, by applying a strong and consistent frictional force, especially from a buffing wheel. Somebody scratched my car! I'll have to take it to the shop to get it buffed out.

2. To conceal or remove minor flaws, imperfections, or damage, either physically (as from a surface) or figuratively (as from one's personality or background). Prior to his campaign, the candidate hired a PR firm to buff out some of his problems relating to younger voters. The groundskeeper buffed out the field ahead of the big game tonight.

See also: buff, out

buff the muffin

vulgar slang To masturbate. A term usually applied to women. A: "Why is she all embarrassed today?" B: "Oh, her crush walked in on her buffing the muffin. How horrifying is that?"

See also: buff, muffin

buff up

To make a surface (such as metal) smooth by rubbing it so that it shines. A noun or pronoun can be used between "buff" and "up." I buffed up my car so that it would look nice at the wedding.

See also: buff, up

buffed

Showing muscle definition, usually in an attractive or appealing way. There are so many buffed guys at this gym that it's hard to concentrate on working out! Can you believe how buffed I look after just three sessions with the personal trainer?

See also: buff

in the altogether

Naked. I keep having the dream where I walk into my high school in the altogether!

in the buff

slang Naked. I keep having the dream where I walk into my high school in the buff!

See also: buff

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

buff something down

to polish or smooth something by buffing. I buffed the newly waxed table down with a cloth. I'm going to go out and buff down the car.

See also: buff, down

buff something up

to polish something to a shine. He buffed his shoes up and went out for the evening. He buffed up the antique silver platter.

See also: buff, up

*in the altogether

 and *in the buff; *in the nude; *in the raw

Fig. naked; nude. (*Typically: be ~; get [into] ~; sleep ~.) The museum has a painting of some ladies in the buff. Mary felt a little shy about getting into the altogether. Bill says he sleeps in the raw.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

in the altogether

Also, in or stripped to the buff ; in the raw. Naked, nude, as in The art class wanted a model to pose in the altogether, or She was stripped to the buff when the doorbell rang, or He always sleeps in the raw. The first of these colloquial terms dates from the late 1800s. In the buff, a seemingly modern locution dates from the 1600s, buff alluding to a soft, undyed leather, buffskin, that also gave its name to the color. The use of raw, presumably also alluding to raw (undressed) leather, dates from the early 1900s.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

in the altogether

without any clothes on; naked. informal

1991 Today The mothers…have agreed to pose in the altogether.

in the buff

naked. informal

The original meaning of buff in English was ‘buffalo’, and it later came to mean ‘ox hide’ or ‘the colour of ox hide’. In the buff itself comes from buff leather, a type of yellowish-beige ox hide formerly used in military uniform, the colour of which was regarded as comparable to that of human skin.

See also: buff

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

in the ˈbuff

(informal) wearing no clothes: I’m sure I saw him swimming in the buff!

See also: buff

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

buff(ed)

(bəft)

mod. strong; muscular. He has such buff legs! Does he have a job or does he just work out?

See also: buff

buff

verb

See buffed

in the buff

mod. naked. You can save hundreds of dollars in a lifetime by not buying pajamas and sleeping in the buff instead.

See also: buff

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

in the buff

Naked.

See also: buff

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.