faff
An overcomplicated task, especially one perceived as a waste of timeAn overcomplicated task, especially one perceived as a waste of time.
» Tom spent all morning faffing about on social media instead of working.
Том весь ранок пробайдикував у соціальних мережах, замість того, щоб працювати. — deniko · CC BY 2.0 FR
deniko · Tatoeba · CC0Meaning
3 senses(Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, slang)An overcomplicated task, especially one perceived as a waste of time.
Adjusting this television is a bit of a faff.
A state of confused or frantic activity.
She's in a total faff about tonight's dinner party.
(UK, obsolete)A puff of smoke; a gust of wind.
Examples
2 sentencesTom spent all morning faffing about on social media instead of working.
Том весь ранок пробайдикував у соціальних мережах, замість того, щоб працювати. — deniko · CC BY 2.0 FR
Stop faffing around.
Не валяй дурня! — deniko
Translations
3 languagesOrigin
Originally imitative of wind or puffs of air (see verb senses "to blow in puffs", "to moveOriginally imitative of wind or puffs of air (see verb senses "to blow in puffs", "to move with a puff of air"). The noun is formed from the verb by conversion.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.