fluffern.1
/ˈflʌfə/ A worker on a railway system (spec. the London Underground) employed to clear the track of refuse (see also quot. 1964).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > rail travel > railway worker > [noun] > track maintenance workers
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track-layera1861
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fluffer1956
1956 in Shorter Oxf. Dict. Add.
1962 Guardian 19 Jan. 9/6 They call them fluffers..because their job is to remove the fluff and dust that gets..on to the rails.
1964 Daily Mirror 30 Jan. 18/5 Fluffers... That's the name given to the gangs of women employed to clean the walls of London Underground tunnels during the early hours of the morning.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
fluffern.2
/ˈflʌfə/, U.S. /ˈfləfər/ slang (originally U.S.).
In the pornographic film industry: a person employed to stimulate a male actor to ensure that he has an erection when required. Hence: a person employed to prepare or warm up an audience for another act.
ΚΠ
1979 Screw 31 Dec. 7/2 One of the black guys was nearly demanding a warm-up, some contrivance to stiffen his johnson before the main event... ‘No fluffers,’ screamed someone.
1991 Chicago Tribune 15 Aug. e5/6 Such ‘audience fluffers’ orchestrate applause.
2000 I. Edward-Jones My Canapé Hell (2001) x. 264 ‘What have you been doing out there?’ ‘I'm a fluffer,’ she replies, matter of factly taking a swig of wine.
2003 Philadelphia Inquirer (Nexis) 10 July e9 Smith, who refers to herself as the evening's ‘fluffer’, is a stand-up comedian.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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