From: benlizro@ihug.co.nz   
      
   Anglo-Irish playwright (and politician).   
      
   Crystal's linguistic point is Sheridan's _The Critic_ (1779) "a parody   
   of theatre writing and practices", in which the character Mr.Puff   
   describes himself as "a practitioner in panegyric, or, to speak more   
   plainly, a professor of the art of puffing, at your service."   
      
   Just in case this word is not familiar, a puff is/was "a piece of   
   inflated or unmerited praise, used to advertise a product, or, in this   
   case, to advertise a play." [Crystal]   
      
   "an empty or idle boast; bombast, inflation of style, ‘hot air’; vanity,   
   pride; showy adornment." [OED, from 1567]   
      
   He quotes a long paragraph of Mr Puff puffing himself, claiming that he   
   taught the greatest puffers (here - auctioneers) everything they know.   
      
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Brinsley_Sheridan   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)