kerfuffle
8
8.8
- noun
- /kərˈfʌfəl/
- Informal
:
alboroto
- There was a big kerfuffle at the meeting when everyone disagreed on the new policy.
- a big kerfuffle
- a bit of a kerfuffle
- the whole kerfuffle
So once I brought that up it it caused a whole big kerfuffle.
- So once I brought that up it it caused a whole big kerfuffle.
- And then everybody else after Johnny is like when, when there was that Conan Leno kerfuffle, right?
- I think also with sort of the kerfuffle with all of the things with the WGA and that we've been going through, like they are linked to money.
- There was there was a kerfuffle at Harvard a few years back, Larry Summers, when Larry Summers stuck his foot in his mouth for not the first or last time.
- They didn't hear any kerfuffle going off off the background often they didn't really hear plain noises.
Examples
-
What a kerfuffle!
-
The teacher tried to calm the kerfuffle in the classroom caused by the heated debate.
-
But take a look at Morning Joe on this whole kerfuffle today.
-
It's not worth the kerfuffle, man.
-
Yeah, it's a kerfuffle over nothing.
-
In all this kerfuffle, we have forgotten that it is all about you.
Blog text (32) -
Hey, what's with all the kerfuffle out there?
-
If anything, his professional rise has only accelerated in the wake of this kerfuffle.
Blog text (25) -
The main complaint I would have about this whole kerfuffle is two-fold:
Blog text (7) -
I seem to recall a kerfuffle about some textbooks in Texas not long ago.
Blog text (11)
Synonyms
262
7.0
A noisy fuss about something not important
126
4.1
A break in the normal flow of activity
73
4.1
A noisy situation when people are excited or confused
47
3.9
A loud, confused noise and activity by a group of people
45
3.7
A noisy event in a public place that bothers other people
31
6.8
A loud, confused noise made by people arguing or shouting
27
4.2
A noisy argument about something unimportant
14
8.8
A noisy fuss about something not very important
12
7.7
A noisy, confused situation with a crowd behaving badly
5
7.2
A short angry argument between people that is not very serious
4
4.9
A short sudden commotion in a group
3
7.9
Too much fuss about a small, unimportant thing
1
9.6
A noisy fuss about something unimportant
1
9.6
A noisy, confused situation with many people and activity
1
9.4
A noisy fuss that causes excitement and arguments
1
9.9
A noisy argument or fight that makes a place loud and confused
1
8.6
A noisy argument between people, often in public
A small noisy fuss about something unimportant
How Disruptive
Surface Forms
Etymology
Kerfuffle probably comes from an old Scottish or Irish word curfuffle that meant a 'confused mess' or 'disorder'. The noisy sound of ker and fuffle feels like things being mixed up or people fussing, so kerfuffle now means a small noisy argument or 'fuss'.