fluffn.¹

Brit.

/flʌf/, U.S.

/fləf/

Etymology: apparently connected with flue n.²; perhaps an onomatopoeic modification of that word, imitating the action of puffing away some light substance; compare fluff n.², fluff v.² An Old English *flug , fluh , < root of fly v.¹, would, however, if it existed, account for both words; compare Low German flug, flog flue. Not in Johnson or Todd.

a. Light, feathery, flocculent stuff, such as the downy particles that separate from dressed wool.

ΘΠ

the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > types of softness > [noun] > softness and downiness or fluffiness > downy or fluffy substance

down1542

flue1589

lanugo1677

fluff1790

oose1822

1790 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. (ed. 2) Fluff, down. The fluff of a peach. Kent.

1818 J. Brown Psyche 171 Some fluff upon his cousin's cape.

a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Fluff, any light, flying, downy, gossamer-like stuff.

1880 W. D. Howells Undiscovered Country xii. 173 A little fluff under the bed or a spot on the floor would have been a comfort to her.

b. The soft fur of a rabbit or other animal.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > animal body > general parts > covering or skin > [noun] > coat > hair, wool, or fur > soft fur

fluff1883

the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Lagomorpha (rabbits and hares) > [noun] > family Leporidae > genus Oryctolagus (rabbit) > parts of or fur

scut1530

almond1627

fluff1883

1883 F. C. Gould in Leisure Hour 613/2 They sneaked back..with rabbits' fluff in their jaws.

c. ? Soft feathery material for dress.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric with specific qualities > [noun] > thin, light, or delicate > for clothing

crisp1397

peeling1671

barége1828

Henrietta cloth1842

Tibet1857

piuma1858

crystalline1867

fluff1875

nun's veiling1882

zenana1890

voilette1908

Palm Beach1911

1875 Ld. Tennyson Queen Mary i. iv. 30 If this Prince of fluff and feather come To woo you.

d. Usually bit of fluff (cf. bit n.² and adj.² Phrases 2a(b)(iv)): a young woman. colloquial.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > person > young person > young woman > [noun]

daughterOE

maidenOE

young womanOE

mayc1175

burdc1225

maidc1275

wenchc1290

file1303

virginc1330

girla1375

damselc1380

young ladya1393

jilla1425

juvenclec1430

young person1438

domicellea1464

quean1488

trull1525

pulleta1533

Tib1533

kittyc1560

dell1567

gillian1573

nymph1584

winklota1586

frotion1587

yuffrouw1589

pigeon1592

tit1599

nannicock1600

muggle1608

gixy1611

infanta1611

dilla1627

tittiea1628

whimsy1631

ladykin1632

stammel1639

moggie1648

zitellaa1660

baggagea1668

miss1668

baby1684

burdie1718

demoiselle1720

queanie?1800

intombi1809

muchacha1811

jilt1816

titter1819

ragazza1827

gouge1828

craft1829

meisie1838

sheila1839

sixteenc1840

chica1843

femme1846

muffin1854

gel1857

quail1859

kitten1870

bud1880

fräulein1883

sub-debutante1887

sweet-and-twenty1887

flapper1888

jelly1889

queen1894

chick1899

pusher1902

bit of fluff1903

chicklet1905

twist and twirl1905

twist1906

head1913

sub-deb1916

tabby1916

mouse1917

tittie1918

chickie1919

wren1920

bim1922

nifty1923

quiff1923

wimp1923

bride1924

job1927

junior miss1927

hag1932

tab1932

sort1933

palone1934

brush1941

knitting1943

teenybopper1966

weeny-bopper1972

Valley Girl1982

the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > pleasing appearance > [noun] > prettiness > specifically of woman > pretty girl or woman

primerolea1350

jolyvet1413

prim1509

nicebeceturc1520

bit of stuff?1553

nicebice1595

dabchick1612

rosebud1668

doll1778

living doll1785

a bit (also bundle) of muslin1823

a bit (also piece) of all right1895

bit of fluff1903

dolly1906

baby doll1908

cutiea1911

cutie-pie1920

kewpie1946

tchotchke1968

tchotchkeleh1985

1903 ‘Marjoribanks’ Fluff-hunters 11 The guard was about to whistle, when a bit of fluff was blown up the platform, and, before Webster had had time to send up a petition for a safe journey, it (the fluff) had come to rest on the corner seat opposite him.

1919 W. Deeping Second Youth xxiv. 207 Got a little party on, you know, two bits of fashionable fluff.

1937 W. S. Maugham Theatre xiv. 120 It was strangely flattering for a woman to be treated as a little bit of fluff that you just tumbled on to a bed.

1961 P. G. Wodehouse Service with Smile ii. 42 His ball of fluff will be there.

e. A kind of wheat.

1922 Glasgow Herald 30 Mar. 11 Good white Kent fluffs.

a. A soft, downy mass or bunch.

ΘΠ

the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > types of softness > [noun] > softness and downiness or fluffiness > mass

fuzz1674

fuff1700

fluff1862

the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > mass formed by collection of particles > soft

pat1651

fluff1862

1862 J. W. Carlyle Lett. (1883) III. 127 Larks come with feathers all in a fluff.

1885 ‘E. Garrett’ At Any Cost xv. 277 A young woman..with a fluff of golden hair about her face.

1891 T. Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles II. xxiii. 27 All this fluff of muslin about you.

b. Something downy and feathery.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > feather > [noun] > down or down-feather > bird that is covered in

fluff1870

1870 J. R. Lowell My Study Windows (1886) 46 Tiny fluffs of feathered life.

1883 T. Gray in Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 129 Sometimes he [Edison] used what he describes as a fluff, that is, a little brush of silk fibre.

3. slang.

a. On railways (see quots.).

ΚΠ

1874 Hotten's Slang Dict. (rev. ed.) 166 Fluff, railway ticket clerks' slang for short change given by them. The profits thus accruing are called ‘fluffings’, and the practice is known as ‘fluffing’.

1890 Star 27 Jan. 2/4 Many porters on this line are but getting 15s. per week, and with regard to ‘tips’, or, as we say ‘fluff’—well [etc.].

b. Theatre ‘“Lines” half learned and imperfectly delivered’ (Farmer). Also, a mistake made when broadcasting, playing music, etc.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > words spoken by actors > types of

cue1553

anteloquy1623

aside1728

catchword1755

side soliloquy1842

gag1847

gravy1864

fluff1891

laugh line1913

rhubarb1919

curtain line1939

walla1949

1891 World 3 June 28/1 Even as seen through a veil of ‘fluff’, the burlesque is irresistibly amusing.

1937 Variety Radio Directory 1937–8 342 Fluff, missing a cue, or muffing a gag.

1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio 253 Fluff, a small accidental error in operational work or in speech.

1967 Word Study Oct. 2/2 The announcer's fluff: ‘Kids, be sure Mother is stopped [stocked] up with Kellogg's Pep.’

1970 Daily Tel. 28 Oct. 12/7 In spite of a surprising number of fluffs, there was some excellent playing.

c. A bungling of a stroke or movement in games; a mistake, a blunder.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of play, actions, or postures > [noun] > mistake

bobble1887

fluff1928

the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > [noun] > unskilful action or working > a bungle

miscarriage1590

bungle1656

bumble1823

boggle1834

muff1867

car wreck1877

mismove1877

miscue1882

muddle1884

bobble1887

mess-up1902

floater1913

bollock1919

fluff1928

balls-up1929

muck-up1930

balls1938

snafu1943

foul-up1944

fuck-up1949

clusterfuck1969

car crash1992

dumpster fire2008

omnishambles2009

1928 Daily Express 10 May 10/2 Walter Hagen..hit a [golf] ball no more than a couple of yards... There is nothing malicious in the way the mind fixes on that two-yard ‘fluff’.

1960 Times 21 Mar. 3/3 In addition he achieved four astonishing place kicks, which made his costly fluff against France unbelievable.

1970 Guardian 5 Aug. 18/8 Naturally, the Manson defence lawyers leaped on the fluff as an outrage.

Draft additions 1993

figurative. Something insubstantial or trifling, esp. journalism or other writing, usually of a sentimental nature.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > insubstantial

triflec1290

vainc1330

winda1382

vapour1382

gossamer?a1400

visevase1481

good morrow1542

cobweb1579

superficial1579

puff1583

bladder1589

blathery1591

froth1594

bag of winda1599

moth1600

nominala1625

tumour1630

windlestraw1637

vacuity1648

balloon1656

blank1678

breath bubble1835

nominality1842

fluff1906

cotton candy1931

society > communication > journalism > journal > matter of or for journals > [noun] > space-filler or insubstantial writing

Balaam1826

space-filler1886

fluff1906

society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > [noun] > worthless or trivial

pap1548

scribble1577

scribbling1711

dab1729

scribblement1785

fluff1906

non-book1960

1906 R. Fry Let. 11 Feb. (1972) I. 249 Having to see reporters..and being careful to give them a lot of fluff with nothing inside it.

1979 Amer. Notes & Queries Nov. 41/1 The more immediate monetary rewards to be gained by starring in a piece of unchallenging romantic fluff.

1986 New Yorker 22 Dec. 75/3 Bloom says he was the paper's ‘fluff specialist’ for a while—the reporter papers depend on to write their way out of a story on the first day of spring or..the new baby giraffe.

1990 N. De Mille Gold Coast xxix. 405 The U.S. Attorney's office had complained vigorously about media sensationalism and too much human-interest fluff.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

fluffn.²

Brit.

/flʌf/, U.S.

/fləf/, Scottish English

/flʌf/

Etymology: see fluff v.²

Scottish and northern dialect.

A puff; a quick, short blast, a whiff; a slight explosion. literal and figurative.

ΚΠ

1819 J. Rennie St. Patrick III. i. 31 I'm sure an ye warna a fish or something war, ye could never a' keepit ae fluff o' breath in the body o' ye in aneath the loch.

1871 C. Gibbon For Lack of Gold I. x. 142 You'll see how cozily we'll blaze together to a white ash, and go off at the same minute with a fluff of affection.

1871 C. Gibbon For Lack of Gold I. xviii. 265 The nuts leapt off with a ‘fluff’.

Compounds

fluff-gib n. a squib, ‘explosion of gunpowder’ (Jamieson).

ΚΠ

1817 W. Scott Rob Roy III. iv. 108 Wi' fighting, and flashes, and fluf-gibs.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

fluffv.¹

Brit.

/flʌf/, U.S.

/fləf/

Etymology: < fluff n.¹

1. transitive. Leather Manufacturing. (See quot. 1882) Cf. buff v.³ 1.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with skins > work with skins [verb (transitive)] > clean hide > remove flesh

flesh1777

fluff1882

1882 J. Paton in Encycl. Brit. XIV. 387/1 The flesh side is whitened or fluffed.

2. To make into fluff, pick into oakum.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > rope-making > make rope [verb (transitive)] > other specific processes

lay1486

throw?c1625

register1793

re-lay1804

warp1815

to lay upc1860

tube1863

wimble1874

strand1886

fluff1892

1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 14 Mar. 2/2 Looking up from the rope I was fluffing.

3. To shake out or up into a soft mass like fluff. Also reflexive (of a bird): To shake or puff out its feathers.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > actions or bird defined by > [verb (reflexive)] > shake feathers

fluff1875

the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > expand or enlarge [verb (intransitive)] > fluff out or up

bush1587

fluff1875

the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > expand or enlarge [verb (transitive)] > fluff out or up

fluff1875

pouf1947

1875 L. Troubridge Jrnl. in Life amongst Troubridges (1966) x. 103 Her black hair combed right down over her fore~head and fluffed out behind.

1885 A. Brassey In Trades 137 The ‘Johnny Crows’..fluff and plume and dust themselves without cessation.

1885 O. T. Miller in Harper's Mag. Mar. 599 He [a bird] fluffs himself out into a ball.

1887 Poor Nellie (1888) 265 The young ladies showed off the silky satins..then fluffed them up into a kind of pyramid.

1893 ‘S. Grand’ Heavenly Twins (1894) 279 She..fluffed her hair out till her head seemed preposterously large.

4. intransitive.

a. To move or float softly like fluff.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > motion in the air > move in the air [verb (intransitive)] > gently

roll1614

fan1622

waft1664

fluff1888

1888 W. C. Russell Death Ship III. 221 'Twas a..fog..fluffing thick and soft as feathers about the ship.

b. To settle down like a ball or mass of fluff.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > move downwards [verb (intransitive)] > descend and settle > like fluff

fluff1872

1872 O. W. Holmes Poet at Breakfast-table iii, in Atlantic Monthly Mar. 338/1 She gave the music-stool a twirl or two and fluffed down on to it like a whirl of soap-suds in a hand-basin.

5. Slang.

Categories »

a. fluff it! (see quot. 1859).

Categories »

b. (of railway booking-clerks) To give short change.

Categories »

c. To disconcert, ‘floor’ (a public speaker); (cf. fluff v.² 1a).

d. (Theatre) To blunder one's part. Also, to make mistakes in broadcasting, playing music, etc.; to mispronounce, play wrongly (a phrase, note, etc.).

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > acting > act [verb (intransitive)] > blunder one's part

fluff1859

1859 J. C. Hotten Dict. Slang Fluff it, a term of disapprobation implying ‘take it away, I don't want it’.

1884 G. Moore Mummer's Wife xx. 286 Mortimer was drunk, did not know his words, and went ‘fluffing’ all over the shop.

1936 H. Herd Press Days i. 20 I had a good natural memory and could be relied upon [in reciting] not to fluff my lines.

1946 Penguin Music Mag. Dec. 71 But, if you are in his orchestra, don't fluff that phrase next morning.

1955 Times 11 May 15/1 He loomed nearer in a closeup to tell viewers (fluffing his lines a little) about the decision of the three Great Powers to invite Russia to join in four-Power talks.

1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day ix. 186 I had kept fluffing when I practised them [sc. songs].

1967 Word Study Oct. 3/1 Steve Allen fluffed one time in advertising Dunhills: ‘They're much, much wilder [milder].’

e. To bungle (esp. a stroke or movement in games); to make a mistake; to fail (an examination). (Cf. duff v.³)

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of play, actions, or postures > [verb (transitive)] > bungle or fumble

muff1846

mull1862

fluff1902

bobble1908

the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > be unskilled in [verb (transitive)] > bungle

botch1530

bungle1530

mumble1588

muddle1605

mash1642

bumble?1719

to fall through ——1726

fuck1776

blunder1805

to make a mull of1821

bitch1823

mess1823

to make a mess of1834

smudge1864

to muck up1875

boss1887

to make balls of1889

duff1890

foozle1892

bollocks1901

fluff1902

to make a muck of1903

bobble1908

to ball up1911

jazz1914

boob1915

to make a hash of1920

muff1922

flub1924

to make a hat of1925

to ass up1932

louse1934

screw1938

blow1943

to foul up1943

eff1945

balls1947

to make a hames of1947

to arse up1951

to fuck up1967

dork1969

sheg1981

bodge1984

society > education > educational administration > examination > examine a candidate [verb (transitive)] > fail an examination

skew1859

fail1906

pip1908

fluff1955

1902 Westm. Gaz. 30 Apr. 7/3 Blain played first, and topped his shot into the bunker. Hilton then played, half-fluffed his.

1909 Westm. Gaz. 10 June 12/3 He skied his second into the rough at the third, and then fluffed his approach.

1915 H. L. Wilson Ruggles of Red Gap (1917) xv. 264 If it proves that I have fluffed my catch, rely upon me to use extreme measures.

1944 ‘N. Shute’ Pastoral i. 18 I fluffed the twelfth and lost a ball.

1955 Amer. Speech 30 303 Fluff, flunk (an exam), or make a mistake of any kind.

1959 G. Jenkins Twist of Sand viii. 148 There's a new attack plan. I don't want it fluffed, like the other.

1971 Daily Tel. 6 Aug. 11/5 Many school~children..awaiting their summer exam results have now got this particular worry. Has mother fluffed hers—or has she got through?

1971 Times 17 Sept. 6/4 Palmer fluffed it because there was a hedge where his backswing should have gone.

f. intransitive. To bluff, to lie; also transitive, to falsify (accounts, etc.).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > dishonesty > [verb (transitive)] > by falsifying

rig1826

fluff1902

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lie, tell lies [verb (intransitive)] > be evasive

varyc1430

revolt1577

sklent1581

equivocate1590

fluff1902

bullshit1942

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > trickery, playing jokes > practise trickery [verb (intransitive)] > using bluff

to play a game of brag1845

gas1847

bluff1854

to run a bluff on1887

four-flush1896

fluff1902

blag1991

society > morality > moral evil > lack of principle or integrity > be unprincipled in [verb (transitive)] > manage in underhand manner

rig1826

wangle1888

fluff1957

1902 E. Nesbit Five Children & It x. 268 We must pretend like mad. Like that game of cards where you pretend you've got aces when you haven't. Fluffing, they call it.

1941 M. Allingham Traitor's Purse xiv. 159 You're up to something you don't want me to know about... Don't fluff.

1955 M. Gilbert Sky High xv. 209 Watch him..he's fluffing... He's acting. Dangerous man. Don't relax.

1957 Times Lit. Suppl. 11 Oct. 603/2 If he had chosen to fluff the accounts, or to render none, he would not have exposed himself.

g. Of railway porters: (see quots.).

ΚΠ

1923 J. Manchon Le Slang 127.

1926 Westm. Gaz. 7 Jan. ‘Fluffing’—that is, unauthorized tip-hunting by railway men—must stop, by order of the National Union of Railwaymen.

1966 H. Sheppard Dict. Railway Slang (ed. 2) 5 Fluffing, selection of rich passengers by off duty employees.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

fluffv.²

Brit.

/flʌf/, U.S.

/fləf/, Scottish English

/flʌf/

Etymology: belongs to fluff n.²; of onomatopoeic origin.

Scottish.

a. transitive. To knock out of breath; to cause to pant. Only in passive.

ΚΠ

1790 A. Shirrefs Poems 21 But yet, nae ferly gin I'm fluff'd.

b. intransitive. To puff, pant.

ΚΠ

1813 J. Hogg Queen's Wake i. viii. 75 We borit the breiste of the burstyng swale, Or fluffit i' the flotyng faem.

c. To make a fuss.

ΚΠ

1889 E. Lynn Linton Thro' Long Night I. ii. i. 310 She had often fluffed and fumed to Anne over that provision of her father's will.

2. transitive. To make (gunpowder) ignite and go off. Also to fluff in the pan. Cf. flash v.¹ 5c.

ΚΠ

1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. (at cited word) To fluff powder, to burn gun-powder; to make it fly off, S.

1855 J. Ogilvie Suppl. Imperial Dict. Fluffed i' the pan, burned priming without firing the barrel of the gun or pistol [Scotch].

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

n.¹1790

n.²1817

v.¹1859

v.²1790

单词	fluff
释义	fluffn.¹ Brit. /flʌf/, U.S. /fləf/ Etymology: apparently connected with flue n.²; perhaps an onomatopoeic modification of that word, imitating the action of puffing away some light substance; compare fluff n.², fluff v.² An Old English flug , fluh* , < root of fly v.¹, would, however, if it existed, account for both words; compare Low German flug, flog flue. Not in Johnson or Todd. 1. a. Light, feathery, flocculent stuff, such as the downy particles that separate from dressed wool. ΘΠ the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > types of softness > [noun] > softness and downiness or fluffiness > downy or fluffy substance down1542 flue1589 lanugo1677 fluff1790 oose1822 1790 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. (ed. 2) Fluff, down. The fluff of a peach. Kent. 1818 J. Brown Psyche 171 Some fluff upon his cousin's cape. a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Fluff, any light, flying, downy, gossamer-like stuff. 1880 W. D. Howells Undiscovered Country xii. 173 A little fluff under the bed or a spot on the floor would have been a comfort to her. b. The soft fur of a rabbit or other animal. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > animal body > general parts > covering or skin > [noun] > coat > hair, wool, or fur > soft fur fluff1883 the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Lagomorpha (rabbits and hares) > [noun] > family Leporidae > genus Oryctolagus (rabbit) > parts of or fur scut1530 almond1627 fluff1883 1883 F. C. Gould in Leisure Hour 613/2 They sneaked back..with rabbits' fluff in their jaws. c. ? Soft feathery material for dress. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric with specific qualities > [noun] > thin, light, or delicate > for clothing crisp1397 peeling1671 barége1828 Henrietta cloth1842 Tibet1857 piuma1858 crystalline1867 fluff1875 nun's veiling1882 zenana1890 voilette1908 Palm Beach1911 1875 Ld. Tennyson Queen Mary i. iv. 30 If this Prince of fluff and feather come To woo you. d. Usually bit of fluff (cf. bit n.² and adj.² Phrases 2a(b)(iv)): a young woman. colloquial. ΘΚΠ the world > people > person > young person > young woman > [noun] daughterOE maidenOE young womanOE mayc1175 burdc1225 maidc1275 wenchc1290 file1303 virginc1330 girla1375 damselc1380 young ladya1393 jilla1425 juvenclec1430 young person1438 domicellea1464 quean1488 trull1525 pulleta1533 Tib1533 kittyc1560 dell1567 gillian1573 nymph1584 winklota1586 frotion1587 yuffrouw1589 pigeon1592 tit1599 nannicock1600 muggle1608 gixy1611 infanta1611 dilla1627 tittiea1628 whimsy1631 ladykin1632 stammel1639 moggie1648 zitellaa1660 baggagea1668 miss1668 baby1684 burdie1718 demoiselle1720 queanie?1800 intombi1809 muchacha1811 jilt1816 titter1819 ragazza1827 gouge1828 craft1829 meisie1838 sheila1839 sixteenc1840 chica1843 femme1846 muffin1854 gel1857 quail1859 kitten1870 bud1880 fräulein1883 sub-debutante1887 sweet-and-twenty1887 flapper1888 jelly1889 queen1894 chick1899 pusher1902 bit of fluff1903 chicklet1905 twist and twirl1905 twist1906 head1913 sub-deb1916 tabby1916 mouse1917 tittie1918 chickie1919 wren1920 bim1922 nifty1923 quiff1923 wimp1923 bride1924 job1927 junior miss1927 hag1932 tab1932 sort1933 palone1934 brush1941 knitting1943 teenybopper1966 weeny-bopper1972 Valley Girl1982 the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > pleasing appearance > [noun] > prettiness > specifically of woman > pretty girl or woman primerolea1350 jolyvet1413 prim1509 nicebeceturc1520 bit of stuff?1553 nicebice1595 dabchick1612 rosebud1668 doll1778 living doll1785 a bit (also bundle) of muslin1823 a bit (also piece) of all right1895 bit of fluff1903 dolly1906 baby doll1908 cutiea1911 cutie-pie1920 kewpie1946 tchotchke1968 tchotchkeleh1985 1903 ‘Marjoribanks’ Fluff-hunters 11 The guard was about to whistle, when a bit of fluff was blown up the platform, and, before Webster had had time to send up a petition for a safe journey, it (the fluff) had come to rest on the corner seat opposite him. 1919 W. Deeping Second Youth xxiv. 207 Got a little party on, you know, two bits of fashionable fluff. 1937 W. S. Maugham Theatre xiv. 120 It was strangely flattering for a woman to be treated as a little bit of fluff that you just tumbled on to a bed. 1961 P. G. Wodehouse Service with Smile ii. 42 His ball of fluff will be there. e. A kind of wheat. Π 1922 Glasgow Herald 30 Mar. 11 Good white Kent fluffs. 2. a. A soft, downy mass or bunch. ΘΠ the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > types of softness > [noun] > softness and downiness or fluffiness > mass fuzz1674 fuff1700 fluff1862 the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > mass formed by collection of particles > soft pat1651 fluff1862 1862 J. W. Carlyle Lett. (1883) III. 127 Larks come with feathers all in a fluff. 1885 ‘E. Garrett’ At Any Cost xv. 277 A young woman..with a fluff of golden hair about her face. 1891 T. Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles II. xxiii. 27 All this fluff of muslin about you. b. Something downy and feathery. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > feather > [noun] > down or down-feather > bird that is covered in fluff1870 1870 J. R. Lowell My Study Windows (1886) 46 Tiny fluffs of feathered life. 1883 T. Gray in Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 129 Sometimes he [Edison] used what he describes as a fluff, that is, a little brush of silk fibre. 3. slang. a. On railways (see quots.). ΚΠ 1874 Hotten's Slang Dict. (rev. ed.) 166 Fluff, railway ticket clerks' slang for short change given by them. The profits thus accruing are called ‘fluffings’, and the practice is known as ‘fluffing’. 1890 Star 27 Jan. 2/4 Many porters on this line are but getting 15s. per week, and with regard to ‘tips’, or, as we say ‘fluff’—well [etc.]. b. Theatre ‘“Lines” half learned and imperfectly delivered’ (Farmer). Also, a mistake made when broadcasting, playing music, etc. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > words spoken by actors > types of cue1553 anteloquy1623 aside1728 catchword1755 side soliloquy1842 gag1847 gravy1864 fluff1891 laugh line1913 rhubarb1919 curtain line1939 walla1949 1891 World 3 June 28/1 Even as seen through a veil of ‘fluff’, the burlesque is irresistibly amusing. 1937 Variety Radio Directory 1937–8 342 Fluff, missing a cue, or muffing a gag. 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio 253 Fluff, a small accidental error in operational work or in speech. 1967 Word Study Oct. 2/2 The announcer's fluff: ‘Kids, be sure Mother is stopped [stocked] up with Kellogg's Pep.’ 1970 Daily Tel. 28 Oct. 12/7 In spite of a surprising number of fluffs, there was some excellent playing. c. A bungling of a stroke or movement in games; a mistake, a blunder. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of play, actions, or postures > [noun] > mistake bobble1887 fluff1928 the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > [noun] > unskilful action or working > a bungle miscarriage1590 bungle1656 bumble1823 boggle1834 muff1867 car wreck1877 mismove1877 miscue1882 muddle1884 bobble1887 mess-up1902 floater1913 bollock1919 fluff1928 balls-up1929 muck-up1930 balls1938 snafu1943 foul-up1944 fuck-up1949 clusterfuck1969 car crash1992 dumpster fire2008 omnishambles2009 1928 Daily Express 10 May 10/2 Walter Hagen..hit a [golf] ball no more than a couple of yards... There is nothing malicious in the way the mind fixes on that two-yard ‘fluff’. 1960 Times 21 Mar. 3/3 In addition he achieved four astonishing place kicks, which made his costly fluff against France unbelievable. 1970 Guardian 5 Aug. 18/8 Naturally, the Manson defence lawyers leaped on the fluff as an outrage. Draft additions 1993 figurative. Something insubstantial or trifling, esp. journalism or other writing, usually of a sentimental nature. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > insubstantial triflec1290 vainc1330 winda1382 vapour1382 gossamer?a1400 visevase1481 good morrow1542 cobweb1579 superficial1579 puff1583 bladder1589 blathery1591 froth1594 bag of winda1599 moth1600 nominala1625 tumour1630 windlestraw1637 vacuity1648 balloon1656 blank1678 breath bubble1835 nominality1842 fluff1906 cotton candy1931 society > communication > journalism > journal > matter of or for journals > [noun] > space-filler or insubstantial writing Balaam1826 space-filler1886 fluff1906 society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > [noun] > worthless or trivial pap1548 scribble1577 scribbling1711 dab1729 scribblement1785 fluff1906 non-book1960 1906 R. Fry Let. 11 Feb. (1972) I. 249 Having to see reporters..and being careful to give them a lot of fluff with nothing inside it. 1979 Amer. Notes & Queries Nov. 41/1 The more immediate monetary rewards to be gained by starring in a piece of unchallenging romantic fluff. 1986 New Yorker 22 Dec. 75/3 Bloom says he was the paper's ‘fluff specialist’ for a while—the reporter papers depend on to write their way out of a story on the first day of spring or..the new baby giraffe. 1990 N. De Mille Gold Coast xxix. 405 The U.S. Attorney's office had complained vigorously about media sensationalism and too much human-interest fluff. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022). fluffn.² Brit. /flʌf/, U.S. /fləf/, Scottish English /flʌf/ Etymology: see fluff v.² Scottish and northern dialect. A puff; a quick, short blast, a whiff; a slight explosion. literal and figurative. ΚΠ 1819 J. Rennie St. Patrick III. i. 31 I'm sure an ye warna a fish or something war, ye could never a' keepit ae fluff o' breath in the body o' ye in aneath the loch. 1871 C. Gibbon For Lack of Gold I. x. 142 You'll see how cozily we'll blaze together to a white ash, and go off at the same minute with a fluff of affection. 1871 C. Gibbon For Lack of Gold I. xviii. 265 The nuts leapt off with a ‘fluff’. Compounds fluff-gib n. a squib, ‘explosion of gunpowder’ (Jamieson). ΚΠ 1817 W. Scott Rob Roy III. iv. 108 Wi' fighting, and flashes, and fluf-gibs. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022). fluffv.¹ Brit. /flʌf/, U.S. /fləf/ Etymology: < fluff n.¹ 1. transitive. Leather Manufacturing. (See quot. 1882) Cf. buff v.³ 1. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with skins > work with skins [verb (transitive)] > clean hide > remove flesh flesh1777 fluff1882 1882 J. Paton in Encycl. Brit. XIV. 387/1 The flesh side is whitened or fluffed. 2. To make into fluff, pick into oakum. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > rope-making > make rope [verb (transitive)] > other specific processes lay1486 throw?c1625 register1793 re-lay1804 warp1815 to lay upc1860 tube1863 wimble1874 strand1886 fluff1892 1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 14 Mar. 2/2 Looking up from the rope I was fluffing. 3. To shake out or up into a soft mass like fluff. Also reflexive (of a bird): To shake or puff out its feathers. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > actions or bird defined by > [verb (reflexive)] > shake feathers fluff1875 the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > expand or enlarge [verb (intransitive)] > fluff out or up bush1587 fluff1875 the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > expand or enlarge [verb (transitive)] > fluff out or up fluff1875 pouf1947 1875 L. Troubridge Jrnl. in Life amongst Troubridges (1966) x. 103 Her black hair combed right down over her fore~head and fluffed out behind. 1885 A. Brassey In Trades 137 The ‘Johnny Crows’..fluff and plume and dust themselves without cessation. 1885 O. T. Miller in Harper's Mag. Mar. 599 He [a bird] fluffs himself out into a ball. 1887 Poor Nellie (1888) 265 The young ladies showed off the silky satins..then fluffed them up into a kind of pyramid. 1893 ‘S. Grand’ Heavenly Twins (1894) 279 She..fluffed her hair out till her head seemed preposterously large. 4. intransitive. a. To move or float softly like fluff. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > motion in the air > move in the air [verb (intransitive)] > gently roll1614 fan1622 waft1664 fluff1888 1888 W. C. Russell Death Ship III. 221 'Twas a..fog..fluffing thick and soft as feathers about the ship. b. To settle down like a ball or mass of fluff. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > move downwards [verb (intransitive)] > descend and settle > like fluff fluff1872 1872 O. W. Holmes Poet at Breakfast-table iii, in Atlantic Monthly Mar. 338/1 She gave the music-stool a twirl or two and fluffed down on to it like a whirl of soap-suds in a hand-basin. 5. Slang. Categories » a. fluff it! (see quot. 1859). Categories » b. (of railway booking-clerks) To give short change. Categories » c. To disconcert, ‘floor’ (a public speaker); (cf. fluff v.² 1a). d. (Theatre) To blunder one's part. Also, to make mistakes in broadcasting, playing music, etc.; to mispronounce, play wrongly (a phrase, note, etc.). ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > acting > act [verb (intransitive)] > blunder one's part fluff1859 1859 J. C. Hotten Dict. Slang Fluff it, a term of disapprobation implying ‘take it away, I don't want it’. 1884 G. Moore Mummer's Wife xx. 286 Mortimer was drunk, did not know his words, and went ‘fluffing’ all over the shop. 1936 H. Herd Press Days i. 20 I had a good natural memory and could be relied upon [in reciting] not to fluff my lines. 1946 Penguin Music Mag. Dec. 71 But, if you are in his orchestra, don't fluff that phrase next morning. 1955 Times 11 May 15/1 He loomed nearer in a closeup to tell viewers (fluffing his lines a little) about the decision of the three Great Powers to invite Russia to join in four-Power talks. 1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day ix. 186 I had kept fluffing when I practised them [sc. songs]. 1967 Word Study Oct. 3/1 Steve Allen fluffed one time in advertising Dunhills: ‘They're much, much wilder [milder].’ e. To bungle (esp. a stroke or movement in games); to make a mistake; to fail (an examination). (Cf. duff v.³) ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of play, actions, or postures > [verb (transitive)] > bungle or fumble muff1846 mull1862 fluff1902 bobble1908 the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > be unskilled in [verb (transitive)] > bungle botch1530 bungle1530 mumble1588 muddle1605 mash1642 bumble?1719 to fall through ——1726 fuck1776 blunder1805 to make a mull of1821 bitch1823 mess1823 to make a mess of1834 smudge1864 to muck up1875 boss1887 to make balls of1889 duff1890 foozle1892 bollocks1901 fluff1902 to make a muck of1903 bobble1908 to ball up1911 jazz1914 boob1915 to make a hash of1920 muff1922 flub1924 to make a hat of1925 to ass up1932 louse1934 screw1938 blow1943 to foul up1943 eff1945 balls1947 to make a hames of1947 to arse up1951 to fuck up1967 dork1969 sheg1981 bodge1984 society > education > educational administration > examination > examine a candidate [verb (transitive)] > fail an examination skew1859 fail1906 pip1908 fluff1955 1902 Westm. Gaz. 30 Apr. 7/3 Blain played first, and topped his shot into the bunker. Hilton then played, half-fluffed his. 1909 Westm. Gaz. 10 June 12/3 He skied his second into the rough at the third, and then fluffed his approach. 1915 H. L. Wilson Ruggles of Red Gap (1917) xv. 264 If it proves that I have fluffed my catch, rely upon me to use extreme measures. 1944 ‘N. Shute’ Pastoral i. 18 I fluffed the twelfth and lost a ball. 1955 Amer. Speech 30 303 Fluff, flunk (an exam), or make a mistake of any kind. 1959 G. Jenkins Twist of Sand viii. 148 There's a new attack plan. I don't want it fluffed, like the other. 1971 Daily Tel. 6 Aug. 11/5 Many school~children..awaiting their summer exam results have now got this particular worry. Has mother fluffed hers—or has she got through? 1971 Times 17 Sept. 6/4 Palmer fluffed it because there was a hedge where his backswing should have gone. f. intransitive. To bluff, to lie; also transitive, to falsify (accounts, etc.). ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > dishonesty > [verb (transitive)] > by falsifying rig1826 fluff1902 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lie, tell lies [verb (intransitive)] > be evasive varyc1430 revolt1577 sklent1581 equivocate1590 fluff1902 bullshit1942 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > trickery, playing jokes > practise trickery [verb (intransitive)] > using bluff to play a game of brag1845 gas1847 bluff1854 to run a bluff on1887 four-flush1896 fluff1902 blag1991 society > morality > moral evil > lack of principle or integrity > be unprincipled in [verb (transitive)] > manage in underhand manner rig1826 wangle1888 fluff1957 1902 E. Nesbit Five Children & It x. 268 We must pretend like mad. Like that game of cards where you pretend you've got aces when you haven't. Fluffing, they call it. 1941 M. Allingham Traitor's Purse xiv. 159 You're up to something you don't want me to know about... Don't fluff. 1955 M. Gilbert Sky High xv. 209 Watch him..he's fluffing... He's acting. Dangerous man. Don't relax. 1957 Times Lit. Suppl. 11 Oct. 603/2 If he had chosen to fluff the accounts, or to render none, he would not have exposed himself. g. Of railway porters: (see quots.). ΚΠ 1923 J. Manchon Le Slang 127. 1926 Westm. Gaz. 7 Jan. ‘Fluffing’—that is, unauthorized tip-hunting by railway men—must stop, by order of the National Union of Railwaymen. 1966 H. Sheppard Dict. Railway Slang (ed. 2) 5 Fluffing, selection of rich passengers by off duty employees. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online June 2022). fluffv.² Brit. /flʌf/, U.S. /fləf/, Scottish English /flʌf/ Etymology: belongs to fluff n.²; of onomatopoeic origin. Scottish. 1. a. transitive. To knock out of breath; to cause to pant. Only in passive. ΚΠ 1790 A. Shirrefs Poems 21 But yet, nae ferly gin I'm fluff'd. b. intransitive. To puff, pant. ΚΠ 1813 J. Hogg Queen's Wake i. viii. 75 We borit the breiste of the burstyng swale, Or fluffit i' the flotyng faem. c. To make a fuss. ΚΠ 1889 E. Lynn Linton Thro' Long Night I. ii. i. 310 She had often fluffed and fumed to Anne over that provision of her father's will. 2. transitive. To make (gunpowder) ignite and go off. Also to fluff in the pan. Cf. flash v.¹ 5c. ΚΠ 1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. (at cited word) To fluff powder, to burn gun-powder; to make it fly off, S. 1855 J. Ogilvie Suppl. Imperial Dict. Fluffed i' the pan, burned priming without firing the barrel of the gun or pistol [Scotch]. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.¹1790n.²1817v.¹1859v.²1790
随便看	white squill white squire white staff white staff officer white steenbras white steep white stick white stock white stocking white stone white stork white straits white straw white strawberry white stuff white sturgeon white sugar white sugar candied white sugar candy white sunday white supremacism white supremacist white supremacy white suprematist white supremism

fluffn.1

Draft additions 1993

fluffn.2

Compounds

fluffv.1

fluffv.2

fluffn.¹

fluffn.²

fluffv.¹

fluffv.²