Definitions
Wiktionary
- n. A disorderly outburst, disturbance, commotion or tumult.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a disorderly outburst or tumult
Etymologies
- Probably from Scots curfuffle, equivalent to ker- + fuffle, or related to Irish cior thual ("char athwart: confusion, disorder"). Similar to modern Welsh cythrwfl ("uproar, trouble, agitation") (Wiktionary)
Examples
“My mate Steve the plumber dared me to get the word "kerfuffle" into my analysis, which I thought was very funny.”
The Guardian: I was there at the birth of Sky Sports – and what a kerfuffle | David James
“This kerfuffle is one of the more ridiculous ones in the current “civil rights” climate.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » San Jose State University Continues to Suspend All Blood Drives on Campus
“Blue: “This kerfuffle is one of the more ridiculous ones in the current “civil rights” climate.””
The Volokh Conspiracy » San Jose State University Continues to Suspend All Blood Drives on Campus
“The kerfuffle is leaving me cold, I'll admit: I'm a small-r republican, and would like us to shed the last of our feudal, imperial shackles, lightly-worn though they be.”
“So I think the Stone Age kerfuffle is worth pushing on, especially since some of the "crucial information" that you identified rubs up against Nagin's need to be more transparent.”
“Update: Btw, the politically important feature of this kerfuffle is McCain's confusion -- not knowing how many houses he owns -- rather than the fact that he is rich (by virtue of his wife's inherited wealth).”
“Second, truepenny, triggered by but tangential to the current death-of-short-fiction kerfuffle, is talking about what short stories are good for.”
it is not my intention to be fulsome, but i confess-- i covet your skull
“Way up there Steve Sailer said that this kerfuffle is made for a lot of whites to engage in moral preening about wonderfully sophisticately sensitive they are compared to other whites, who are so deplorable.”
“Lost in the discussion over the New York Times/SWIFT kerfuffle is the history of the Times and national security.”
Waldo Jaquith - Case brief: New York Times Co. v. United States.
“The reaction from Henry County officials to the Will Vehrs kerfuffle is ridiculous.”
Waldo Jaquith - Elected officials react to Will Vehrs’ jokes.
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘kerfuffle’.
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#faveword
Words chosen as favorites for the Twitter hashtag #faveword.
autumnal, grotto, chiaroscuro, sfumato, homunculus, zing, zest, effervescent, bewitch, avuncular, susurrus, Styrofoam and 205 more...
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Situation Normal
inspired by Mistakes Were Made. Words for things going wrong in a manner particularly violent, stupid, soul-crushing, boggling, grandiose, or any combination of these qualities.
fuckup, snafu, fiasco, abortion, miscarriage, implosion, contretemps, imbroglio, brouhaha, melee, kerfuffle, mayhem and 156 more...
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In the News
Words from politics, news, and business
sedition, juridical, feckless, austerity, debenture, sovereign, subterfuge, amicus, obfuscate, transparency, usurp, paradox and 26 more...
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onomatopoeic
warble, quibble, quirk, drudgery, chortle, snicker, galumph, thwart, schlock, whimsy, garble, miffed and 25 more...
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Twitter favourites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favourite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
thunderfuck, incredible, merp, sara, flopparoo, smother, fugly, buer, plum, canny, nefelibata, cuntbucket and 1972 more... -
generationnext's Words
petulant, vehement, pensive, lascivious, vacillate, histrionic, satiated, svelte, lithe, zeitgeist, viscous, sommelier and 526 more...
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Twitter favorites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favorite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
unfathomably, glice, cuh, fab, ciggaty, doll, thuggin, oxymoronic, pineapple, succubutt, griming, cheeky and 2369 more... -
List Erine
cool mint antiseptic
shalom, cattywampus, bourgeoisie, aerophile, traverse, grotto, epicurean, ex cathedra, nautilus, epitaph, lathe, continuum and 753 more...
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NTDW1
template, modal, sublingual, tandem, polycentric, septuagenarian, token, irrevocable, denotive, augural, aberrant, phlebotomy and 1188 more...
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My GRE word list
polemic, ad hominem, fallacious, comity, paucity, contrite, prosaic, veracious, laconic, pugnacious, alacrity, gregarious and 176 more...
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Favorite Words of AWP13
We asked attendees who visited the Wordnik booth what their favorite words were, and these are what they told us. (AWP is an annual conference for writers and those in the writing world.)
cling, declivity, susurrus, caramel, cataract, please, fester, reverie, kerplunk!, defenestration, colonel, ocean and 174 more...
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Fun Words
Words that have funny meanings or are just fun to say.
kumquat, chimichanga, sarsparilla, rutabaga, rumpus, flummox, encrusted, prestidigitation, pomegranate, preposterous, dentiloquist, sepulchre and 323 more...
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Words of Whimsy & Grace
abecedary, addendum, ampersand, anachronism, avuncular, balderdash, barnacle, befuddle, behemoth, bejeebers, blabbermouth, blatherskite and 465 more...
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The Golem's Eye
Words and phrases from Jonathan Stroud's book, The Golem's Eye.
ordure, widdershins, cop, stipple, ostler, struts, minaret, chemise, remonstrate, concussion, wicket, vamoose and 249 more...
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Middle School Vocab Inspiration
Words for my enrichment class, "Word Lab", that inspire and delight, and teach roots, prefixes, suffixes.
kerfuffle, astronomical, balderdash, decimate, doppelganger, predicament
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oddball
wackadoodlery.
( personal list )
related (from me):
http://www.wordnik.com/lists/onomatopoeias--1
bric-a-brac, succotash, humbucker, skedaddle, scallywag, sassafras, gadzooks, humdinger, hoity-toity, wishy-washy, namby-pamby, ding dong and 441 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for kerfuffle.
reesetee Or it could be a dust-up involving this. Aug 6, 2009
hernesheir What about a nerfuffle? Aug 5, 2009
lexylou if kerfuffle implies a dust-up, then kerfluffle implies a dust-up involving pillows. Aug 5, 2009
lbutlr A kerfuffle implies something of little importance; a conflict that can be ignored as inconsequential. The use of the word is dismissive of the underlying conflict. Jul 14, 2009
garyth123 as heard on Little Britain Dec 9, 2008
arby Also spelled kerfluffle, but I prefer this spelling. Jul 17, 2007