"gruff exterior" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
It means someone's rough or unfriendly outer appearance or behavior. Example: Despite his gruff exterior, John was actually a kind and caring person. He often intimidated people with his stern demeanor, but those who knew him well understood that he had a heart of gold.
Despite his gruff exterior, Volpe had just the right touch to maintain the Met's traditions.
Parcells has long operated with a gruff exterior that conceals soft spots for his favorite players.
Despite the restaurant's gruff exterior, the company is warm and friendly, and the food is hearty and spicy.
Beneath the gruff exterior she notes a more vulnerable side and a need for approval from his peers that he is the best.
Beneath Wink's gruff exterior, Mr. Henry suggests a world of hurt, the ache of a man preparing his only child for a life without him.
TOBY KEITH The last few years have revealed the smooth crooner that's been lurking underneath Toby Keith's gruff exterior for some time.
Bravo labels "Tabloid Wars" a look inside a "fast-paced, cutthroat newsroom," but it lingers on the human decency hidden behind gruff exteriors and thick New York and Fleet Street accents.
Behind the gruff exteriors, Manhattanites are a wistful, open-hearted lot, and, perhaps because over 40percentnt are immigrants, they have a knack of muscling newcomers into instant conversations which can culminate in lifelong friendships.
His gruff, Irish exterior belied his sweet nature.
The only true romantic among the main characters may be Hans Van Ripper Jonathann Rion Bethea, Ichabodd's landlord, who hides his sentimental side under a gruff, cynical exterior.
Certainly Brahms led his personal life in just such a fashion, presenting a gruff, impenetrable exterior to his friends, and never letting romantic attractions lead to commitment or even, so it seems, consummation.The contrast amorous and musical with Wagner could not be greater: the wild ecstasies of the love duet by Tristan and Isolde has no parallel in Brahms.
