fluff
[fluhf]
- light, downy particles, as of cotton.
- a soft, light, downy mass: a fluff of summer clouds.
- something of no consequence: The book is pure fluff, but fun to read.
- an error or blunder, especially an actor's memory lapse in the delivery of lines.
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- to make into fluff; shake or puff out (feathers, hair, etc.) into a fluffy mass (often followed by up): to fluff up the sofa pillows.
- to make a mistake in: The leading man fluffed his lines.
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- to become fluffy; move, float, or settle down like fluff.
- to make a mistake, especially in the delivery of lines by a performer; blunder.
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Origin of fluff
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for fluffing
Contemporary Examples
For one split second, she seemed to be fluffing up her hair, a vulnerable gesture.
Historical Examples
A thin skein of vapor trailed from its trail, fluffing into nothingness.
First on the MoonJeff Sutton
Why should people waste time in fluffing and crimping their hair.
The Girls of St. Wode'sL. T. Meade
I don't go twittering and fluffing about in oaks and chestnuts, perching on the birds' nest steps and getting in their way.
Mince PieAuthor: Christopher Darlington MorleyRelease Date: October 10, 2004 [eBook #13694]Christopher Darlington Morley
And he hoped Sam hadn't gotten too blistered by his mentors when he returned home after fluffing the inquiry he was sent out on.
The Great Gray PlagueRaymond F. Jones
The profits thus accruing are called fluffings, and the practice is known as fluffing.
The Slang DictionaryJohn Camden Hotten
fluff
- soft light particles, such as the down or nap of cotton or wool
- any light downy substance
- an object, matter, etc, of little importance; trifle
- informal a mistake, esp in speaking or reading lines or performing music
- informal a young woman (esp in the phrase a bit of fluff)
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- to make or become soft and puffy by shaking or patting; puff up
- informal to make a mistake in performing (an action, dramatic speech, music, etc)
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Word Origin
C18: perhaps from flue ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for fluffing
fluff
v.
"to shake into a soft mass," 1875, from fluff (n.). Meaning "make a mistake" is from 1884, originally in theater slang. Related: Fluffed; fluffing.
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fluff
n.
"light, feathery stuff," 1790, apparently a variant of floow "wooly substance, down, nap" (1580s), perhaps from Flemish vluwe, from French velu "shaggy, hairy," from Latin vellus "fleece," or Latin villus "tuft of hair" (see velvet). OED suggests fluff as "an imitative modification" of floow, "imitating the action of puffing away some light substance." Slang bit of fluff "young woman" is from 1903. The marshmallow confection Fluff dates to c.1920 in Massachusetts, U.S.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper