act vs bluff

act

noun
  • A display of behaviour meant to deceive. 

  • A product of a legislative body, a statute. 

  • A display of behaviour. 

  • A division of a theatrical performance. 

  • Something done once and for all, as distinguished from a work. 

  • Any organized activity. 

  • A performer or performers in a show. 

  • A formal or official record of something done. 

  • The process of doing something. 

  • A thesis maintained in public, in some English universities, by a candidate for a degree, or to show the proficiency of a student. 

  • Something done, a deed. 

verb
  • Of a play: to be acted out (well or badly). 

  • To perform a theatrical role. 

  • To play (a role). 

  • To convey an appearance of being. 

  • To map via a homomorphism to a group of automorphisms (of). 

  • To feign. 

  • To do something. 

  • To have an effect (on). 

  • To behave in a certain manner for an indefinite length of time. 

  • To do something that causes a change binding on the doer. 

bluff

noun
  • An act of bluffing; a false expression of the strength of one's position in order to intimidate; braggadocio. 

  • An attempt to represent oneself as holding a stronger hand than one actually does. 

  • A high, steep bank, for example by a river or the sea, or beside a ravine or plain; a cliff with a broad face. 

  • One who bluffs; a bluffer. 

  • A small wood or stand of trees, typically poplar or willow. 

verb
  • To make a bluff; to give the impression that one's hand is stronger than it is. 

  • To give false information intentionally; to lie; to deceive 

  • To take advantage by bluffing. 

  • To fluff, puff or swell up. 

  • To frighten or deter with a false show of strength or confidence; to give a false impression of strength or temerity in order to intimidate and gain some advantage. 

adj
  • Roughly frank and hearty in one's manners. 

  • Having a broad, flattened front. 

  • Surly; churlish; gruff; rough. 

  • Rising steeply with a flat or rounded front. 

How often have the words act and bluff occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )