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footling

American  
[foot-ling] / ˈfʊt lɪŋ /

adjective

Informal.
  1. foolish; silly.

    ridiculous, footling remarks.

  2. trifling or useless.


footling British  
/ ˈfuːtlɪŋ /

adjective

  1. informal silly, trivial, or petty

"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

Etymology

Origin of footling

First recorded in 1895–1900; footle + -ing 2

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

About two hours later, it was recognised Arthur was "an unanticipated footling breech", the Record of Inquest states.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2023

That left Jonathan with lifelong feelings of guilt, which led him on several occasions to announce that he was abandoning what he once called “this footling flibbertigibbet world of theater.”

From Seattle Times • Nov. 27, 2019

This is in the grand scheme of things a footling detail, and there are many thousands more lines, and two more realms, to get through.

From The Guardian • Jul. 22, 2013

A play which attacks footling excess has by then capsized under the weight of its own adornments.

From The Guardian • Jul. 10, 2010

It seems rather footling work for a man, but he did it; and he says the first thing is to get a personal understanding of the processes and all that.

From The Spinners by Phillpotts, Eden

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