Faffing

[tintinmars]

Where does this word come from...???

[pinus]

I take no credit for this definition, which I have merely copied rofm another site. :-) Faffing is a British slang term. To "faff" is something like to occupy yourself doing little meaningless things. I heard it in the context of "I spent the day faffing about in my room."

[pinus]

The previous answer was based on an American site. It carries the sense of to fuss or dither The word does not appear in my editions of OED or SOED, and I have not found its etymology or history So I didn't actually answer your question! :-)

[Quizmonster]

'Faff' has been used to mean fuss or dither since the mid-19th century. It is based on the 16th century word, 'faffle', meaning to blow in gusts, to saunter, to stutter/stammer and - of a sail - to flap idly in the wind. All of these suggest hesitancy or ineffectuality...as does 'faff'.

[linlam]

http://www.yhagroup.org.uk/faff.htm a web page of faffing

[bernardo]

My dikshunry says it means to fuss or dither, and for the origin it merely says [imitative.]

[Quizmonster]

Obviously, I have no idea what edition of the OED Pinus uses and the same applies to the OED mentioned by the link-site offered by Linlam. The plain fact is, however, that 'The Oxford English Dictionary' - that's the horse's mouth, multi-volume one that fills a shelf in reference libraries, looking for all the world like a set of the 'Encyclop�dia Britannica', gives the etymology I offered in my original response.

I'd go with the word-bible, Tintin.