Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To confuse.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb southern US to confuse or fluster.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably bum- (alteration, perhaps influenced by bum, of bamboozle) + fuzzle (perhaps blend of fuddle and fuzzy).]

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Examples

  • It is just barely conceivably possible that her decision is [gasp] a personal one, and isn't some part of a grand strategic plan to completely bumfuzzle the Obama administration.

    State of the Union: Did Palin make the right move? 2009

  • My preferred style, no longer stylish: “‘This is an attempt to bumfuzzle,’ said the President.”

    No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003

  • My preferred style, no longer stylish: “‘This is an attempt to bumfuzzle,’ said the President.”

    No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003

  • My preferred style, no longer stylish: “‘This is an attempt to bumfuzzle,’ said the President.”

    No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003

  • My preferred style, no longer stylish: “‘This is an attempt to bumfuzzle,’ said the President.”

    No Uncertain Terms William Safire 2003

  • I could bitch about his buttering up wingnuts on the stimulus bill, but after watching this guy bumfuzzle The Clinton and Mccain campaigns with endless politik ju-jitsu, I suspect most of the reported 1/3 taxcuts will not end up in the final bill somehow, or will morph into something else, and Obama will still be able to say he’s being bi-partisan.

    Matthew Yglesias » The New Federalism 2009

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