Definitions

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

  • noun A to-do or fuss.

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

  • noun A disorderly outburst, disturbance, commotion or tumult.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a disorderly outburst or tumult

Etymologies

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

[Scots, variant of curfuffle : cur-, intensive pref. (from Scots Gaelic car, twist, turn about, from Old Irish cor, a turn; see sker- in Indo-European roots) + fuffle, put into disorder (of imitative origin).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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")

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Examples

Comments

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  • Also spelled kerfluffle, but I prefer this spelling.

    July 18, 2007

  • as heard on Little Britain

    December 10, 2008

  • 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.

    July 14, 2009

  • if kerfuffle implies a dust-up, then kerfluffle implies a dust-up involving pillows.

    August 6, 2009

  • What about a nerfuffle?

    August 6, 2009

  • Or it could be a dust-up involving this.

    August 6, 2009

  • How would you profile the person who uses the word kerfuffle?

    January 1, 2014

  • If they could successfully pronounce cythrwfl, I'd call them brilliant.

    January 1, 2014