kerfuffle
[ker-fuhf-uh l]
- Chiefly British Informal. a fuss; commotion.
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Origin of kerfuffle
1945–50; < Scots curfuffle < cur- (< Scots Gaelic car ‘to twist, turn’ < Old Irish cor ‘a turn’) + fuffle ‘to disorder, confuse’ (of imitative origin)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for kerfuffle
Contemporary Examples
The kerfuffle began with a £200 bet, followed by several smaller bets in quick succession.
That's the goofiest part about the kerfuffle: It's not a theoretical discussion.
The most interesting thing about Rice has been the kerfuffle over her move to become secretary of state.
Had one been expecting a kerfuffle, one would have been most disappointed.
The Academy's honorary Oscar for anti-Semitic French director Jean-Luc Godard is more than a kerfuffle—it's an outrage.
kerfuffle
carfuffle or kurfuffle
- informal, mainly British commotion; disorder; agitation
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- (tr) Scot to put into disorder or disarray; ruffle or disarrange
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Word Origin
from Scottish curfuffle, carfuffle, from Scottish Gaelic car twist, turn + fuffle to disarrange
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for kerfuffle
n.
"row, disturbance," c.1930, first in Canadian English, ultimately from Scot. curfuffle.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper