kerfuffle

noun

ker·​fuf·​fle kər-ˈfə-fəl How to pronounce kerfuffle (audio)
plural kerfuffles
informal
: a disturbance or commotion typically caused by a dispute or conflict
In all the kerfuffle, nobody seemed to have noticed Harry, which suited him perfectly.J. K. Rowling
It's not the only school with dress code issues; almost every week there's a local story about some kerfuffle over what kids wear to school.Belinda Luscombe

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The Evolution of Kerfuffle

Fuffle is an old Scottish verb that means “to muss” or “to throw into disarray”—in other words, to (literally) ruffle someone’s (figurative) feathers. The addition of car-, possibly from a Scottish Gaelic word meaning “wrong” or “awkward,” didn’t change its meaning much. In the 19th century carfuffle, with its variant curfuffle, became a noun, which in the 20th century was embraced by a broader population of English speakers and standardized to kerfuffle, referring to a more figurative feather-ruffling. There is some kerfuffle among language historians over how the altered spelling came to be favored. One theory holds that it might have been influenced by onomatopoeic words like kerplunk that imitate the sound of a falling object hitting a surface.

Examples of kerfuffle in a Sentence

predictably, the royal scandal caused quite a kerfuffle on Fleet Street
Recent Examples on the Web The kerfuffle has likely led to a decline in Russian crude exports to India, currently lurking at an 11-month low of 1.5 million bpd. Gaurav Sharma, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 In November 2022, a month after the kerfuffle began, two businessmen in the toilet industry agreed to donate a modular bathroom and pay the installation costs, cutting the price tag by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Heather Knight, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2024 Any sense that Daniels’ ongoing kerfuffle with the 45th President of the United States has been a net positive for her life is put to rest in Sarah Gibson’s new documentary Stormy, premiering at SXSW ahead of a March 18 launch on Peacock. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2024 Another stressful element was the kerfuffle around Robert Downey Jr., who joined the cast in its fourth season, as a fellow lawyer and love interest. Maureen Dowd, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2024 Questions of whether or not high heels are required of women at Cannes have persisted after a 2015 kerfuffle in which several women were denied entrance to the premiere of Todd Haynes' Carol for wearing flats. Christian Holub, EW.com, 9 June 2023 In focusing on the society kerfuffle between Truman Capote and some of the most powerful women of New York’s upper crust, Baitz has a clash that’s entirely inconsequential and yet cataclysmic within its milieu. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Jan. 2024 That caused a kerfuffle, too, as the airport card machine wasn’t working. Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 18 Jan. 2024 Suppliers of aircraft parts like Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Hexcel Corp., and Triumph Group all saw their stocks tumble in the wake of the kerfuffle. Zachary Halaschak, Washington Examiner, 12 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kerfuffle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

alteration of carfuffle, from Scots car- (probably from Scottish Gaelic cearr wrong, awkward) + fuffle to become disheveled

First Known Use

1908, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of kerfuffle was in 1908

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Cite this Entry

“Kerfuffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kerfuffle. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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