| The head surgeon jokes bluffly, and a few people chuff or make the facsimile of laughter, to appease him. |
| Ignored, Maximianus then ordered an unsuccessful hunting-down of this bluffly popular naval commander, who, with the means to buy loyalty if necessary, withdrew the fleet into Britain and proclaimed himself the third emperor. |
| He seemed an ideal candidate: thick-skinned, determined, bluffly charming and a natural media performer. |
| Bluffly outgoing, infallibly at ease in large groups, he seemed inhibited by screen intimacy. |
