crooked as a gaff
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Here gaff is an iron hook at the end of a short pole, used for landing salmon, etc., or the metal spur of fighting- cocks. (Span, and Port, gafa, a boat-hook.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “crooked as a gaff” mean?
Here gaff is an iron hook at the end of a short pole, used for landing salmon, etc., or the metal spur of fighting- cocks. (Span, and Port, gafa, a boat-hook.
Is “crooked as a gaff” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.