TO CALL SOMEONE'S BLUFF

Hello everybody and welcome back to the Daily Vitamin.

Today's expression is: To call someone's bluff

It means: to ask someone to do what they are threatening to do because you believe they do not intend to do it; you believe they want to trick you in order to have an advantage over you, but aren't serious.

To understand this expression, it's important to know what the word bluff means. Following are some definitions

Bluff (verb) --> To deliberately make someone believe that you are stronger, more confident, or in a better position than you really are, often to gain an advantage. (Span: tirarse un farol; engañar.)
Bluff (noun) --> An attempt to deceive someone into believing something that isn't true, especially to gain an advantage. (Span: farol.)

Example 1:
Rick's son, Mark, told Rick that he was going to run away and never come back. Rick called his bluff by giving him 100€ and a sleeping bag (saco de dormir) and showing him the door. Needless to say, Mark did not run away.
 
Example 2:
When Anne got angry with the boss the other day, she told him that she wanted to quit. The boss called her bluff and asked her to turn in her letter of resignation within one hour. After she calmed down, she changed her mind and told him she would stay.  

If you play Poker, you understand how important being able to bluff can be. Mark (example 1) and Anne (example 2) are not very good at bluffing.

⇒ In order to get some writing practice, I encourage you to write your own sentences with today's expression, or with bluff as a noun or as a verb. You can post your sentences to one of our social media sites (Facebook or Bluesky) and we will give you feedback about them as soon as we can.

Enjoy the rest of your day!