A. A. Gill

A cravat is the only item of named after Croatians. Balkan mercenaries were brought to Paris by Louis XIV. Their strange and exotic attire attracted the French bon hommes, who were wearing formal ruffs, and who immediately took to the simple and relaxed military cloth tied at the neck.

British Writer

The ruff is from an era when fashion included elaborate clothing, not seen today.

Historical Fashion

Remember, 'ruff' in this sense is archaic and not used in contemporary fashion.

Not Modern

Ruffs are mainly seen today in costumes, especially during historical reenactments.

Costume Piece

The ruff is known for its unique breeding displays, important for birdwatchers.

Bird Behavior

Male ruffs have ornate feathers that are especially prominent during mating season.

Distinctive Plumage

Ruffs are found in specific areas, so 'ruff' in this context isn't used globally.

Habitat Specific

A ruff in music refers to a specific drumming technique requiring skill.

Drum Technique

Drummers use ruffs to add flair and complexity to a piece of music.

Performance Flair

The musical ruff isn't an everyday term outside of marching bands or orchestras.

Not Commonplace

 watcher you exclaimed Yage ruff that's how I felt because I was so surprised to see that there was one on the dam can earlier today and I could say because I was the one animal and said I'd really like to have the look at its haven't seen a giraffe and I did see them while I was on holiday she has so lots and

Safari Live - Day 15 PIPE...

 trying to establish a route through these crevasses to get to the foot of the lucky face and that's where we're all or the next few days start stringing rope to camp three and then eventually up to camp four inside now we have been preparing the ruffs and all the Sherpas are here we're going to be important

At the Base of Lhotse:...

 saw those trucks they're saying it must have been a female so what I want to do is to work very close with bushwalk team with ruff and hobby and see whether we gonna smoke out this lepidus that has been quite elusive since yesterday the times javi said he could even smell

Safari Live - Day 170 PIPE...

 which is the greedy habit some words have of taking more than one meaning for themselves. So if you think of the word "set," a set can be a badger's burrow, a set can be one of the pleats in an Elizabethan ruff, and there's one numbered definition in the OED.

Erin McKean: The joy of...

 be all sorts of things lurking around first time coming through okay so as I said being close to watering holes least overgrazing leads to a lower increase in fire that Pierce's ruff is on his way towards a watching help watching a hole himself

Safari Live - Day 190 PIPE...

 Wow, that's quite a bark! And a few more. Ruff, ruff, ruff. And three, two, one, stop! Feel free to relax and sit back down. Now, I want you think about how much time passed between the moment I said, "Go!"

How do we experience...

 hungry I am right now sorry about your leg I'll be back in a while pull the rest don't stress my sister will be back to clean up this mess relax kick back it's only a great white shark attack ruff

The Great White Shark...

 here otherwise I am gonna give a red could alright this white oak continues eating on the ground as ruff is also like this what rock looking on the ground well everyone we've just found a little

Safari Live - Day 174 PIPE...

 for the loggerheads ruff shell the team uses a harmless epoxy and a base plate which will slough off after a few days

Tiger Sharks vs. Turtles...

 whoa big dog looks good ruff oh yeah oh yeah be good