kerfuffle

American  

[ker-fuhf-uhl] / kərˈfʌf əl /

noun

1. Informal. a fuss; commotion.

---

kerfuffle British  

/ kəˈfʌfəl /

noun

1. informal commotion; disorder; agitation

---

verb

1. (tr) to put into disorder or disarray; ruffle or disarrange

Etymology

Origin of kerfuffle

First recorded in 1945–50; from Scots curfuffle, from cur- (from Scottish Gaelic car “a turn,” from Old Irish cor ) + fuffle “to disorder, confuse” (of imitative origin)

Example Sentences

We have already witnessed an ice dance judging scandal and a curling kerfuffle featuring a cursing Canadian.

From The Wall Street Journal

What these kerfuffles share is that they are all caused by Britain’s economic anemia but, conspicuously, aren’t about any coherent agenda to reverse it.

From The Wall Street Journal

And there’s a chance that the market’s pullback on Tuesday also turns out to be a kerfuffle rather than a sign of a prolonged downturn.

From Barron's

And there’s a chance that the market’s pullback on Tuesday also turns out to be a kerfuffle rather than a sign of a prolonged downturn.

From Barron's

Note, for instance, how this kerfuffle is goading his critics into defending the indefensible.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• commotion
• disorder
• disruption
• disturbance