puff
    adj 1: gathered for protruding fullness; "puff sleeves" [syn:
           puff, puffed]
    n 1: a short light gust of air [syn: puff, puff of air,
         whiff]
    2: a light inflated pastry or puff shell
    3: exaggerated praise (as for promotional purposes)
    4: bedding made of two layers of cloth filled with stuffing and
       stitched together [syn: quilt, comforter, comfort,
       puff]
    5: a soft spherical object made from fluffy fibers; for applying
       powder to the skin [syn: powderpuff, puff]
    6: thick cushion used as a seat [syn: ottoman, pouf,
       pouffe, puff, hassock]
    7: a slow inhalation (as of tobacco smoke); "he took a puff on
       his pipe"; "he took a drag on his cigarette and expelled the
       smoke slowly" [syn: puff, drag, pull]
    8: forceful exhalation through the nose or mouth; "he gave his
       nose a loud blow"; "he blew out all the candles with a single
       puff" [syn: blow, puff]
    v 1: smoke and exhale strongly; "puff a cigar"; "whiff a pipe"
         [syn: puff, whiff]
    2: suck in or take (air); "draw a deep breath"; "draw on a
       cigarette" [syn: puff, drag, draw]
    3: breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted; "The runners
       reached the finish line, panting heavily" [syn: pant,
       puff, gasp, heave]
    4: make proud or conceited; "The sudden fame puffed her ego"
    5: praise extravagantly; "The critics puffed up this Broadway
       production" [syn: puff, puff up]
    6: speak in a blustering or scornful manner; "A puffing kind of
       man"
    7: to swell or cause to enlarge, "Her faced puffed up from the
       drugs"; "puffed out chests" [syn: puff, puff up, blow
       up, puff out]
    8: blow hard and loudly; "he huffed and puffed as he made his
       way up the mountain" [syn: puff, huff, chuff]

Puff \Puff\, n. [Akin to G. & Sw. puff a blow, Dan. puf, D. pof;
   of imitative origin. Cf. Buffet.]
   1. A sudden and single emission of breath from the mouth;
      hence, any sudden or short blast of wind; a slight gust; a
      whiff. " To every puff of wind a slave." --Flatman.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Anything light and filled with air. Specifically:
      (a) A puffball.
      (b) kind of light pastry.
      (c) A utensil of the toilet for dusting the skin or hair
          with powder.
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   3. An exaggerated or empty expression of praise, especially
      one in a public journal.
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   Puff adder. (Zool.)
      (a) Any South African viper belonging to Clotho and
          allied genera. They are exceedingly venomous, and have
          the power of greatly distending their bodies when
          irritated. The common puff adder (Vipera arietans,
          or Clotho arietans) is the largest species, becoming
          over four feet long. The plumed puff adder (Clotho
          cornuta) has a plumelike appendage over each eye.
      (b) A North American harmless snake (Heterodon
          platyrrhinos) which has the power of puffing up its
          body. Called also hog-nose snake, flathead,
          spreading adder, and blowing adder.

   Puff bird (Zool.), any bird of the genus Bucco, or family
      Bucconid[ae]. They are small birds, usually with
      dull-colored and loose plumage, and have twelve tail
      feathers. See Barbet
      (b) .
          [1913 Webster]

Puff \Puff\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Puffed (p[u^]ft); p. pr. &
   vb. n. Puffing.] [Akin to G. puffen to pop, buffet, puff,
   D. poffen to pop, puffen to blow, Sw. puffa to push, to cuff,
   Dan. puffe to pop, thump. See Puff, n.]
   1. To blow in puffs, or with short and sudden whiffs.
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   2. To blow, as an expression of scorn; -- with at.
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            It is really to defy Heaven to puff at damnation.
                                                  --South.
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   3. To breathe quick and hard, or with puffs, as after violent
      exertion.
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            The ass comes back again, puffing and blowing, from
            the chase.                            --L' Estrange.
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   4. To swell with air; to be dilated or inflated. --Boyle.
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   5. To breathe in a swelling, inflated, or pompous manner;
      hence, to assume importance.
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            Then came brave Glory puffing by.     --Herbert.
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Puff \Puff\, v. t.
   1. To drive with a puff, or with puffs.
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            The clearing north will puff the clouds away.
                                                  --Dryden.
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   2. To repel with words; to blow at contemptuously.
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            I puff the prostitute away.           --Dryden.
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   3. To cause to swell or dilate; to inflate; to ruffle with
      puffs; -- often with up; as, a bladder puffed with air.
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            The sea puffed up with winds.         --Shak.
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   4. To inflate with pride, flattery, self-esteem, or the like;
      -- often with up.
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            Puffed up with military success.      --Jowett
                                                  (Thucyd. )
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   5. To praise with exaggeration; to flatter; to call public
      attention to by praises; to praise unduly. " Puffed with
      wonderful skill." --Macaulay.
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Puff \Puff\, a.
   Puffed up; vain. [R.] --Fanshawe.
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Puffball \Puff"ball`\, n. (Bot.)
   A kind of ball-shaped fungus (Lycoperdon giganteum, and
   other species of the same genus) full of dustlike spores when
   ripe; -- called also bullfist, bullfice, puckfist,
   puff, and puffin.
   [1913 Webster]

puff
 vt.

    To decompress data that has been crunched by Huffman coding. At least one
    widely distributed Huffman decoder program was actually named ?PUFF?, but
    these days it is usually packaged with the encoder. Oppose huff, see 
    inflate.

puff

    To decompress data that has been crunched by
   Huffman coding.  At least one widely distributed Huffman
   decoder program was actually *named* "PUFF", but these days it
   is usually packaged with the encoder.

   Opposite: huff.

   [Jargon File]

   (1996-10-16)