spufflev.
East Anglian dialect.
1. intransitive. To fuss or bustle; to be in a flurry or in breathless haste.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > act or do vigorously [verb (intransitive)] > be brisk or active > bustle
buskle1545
bustle1548
buffle1610
buzz1638
fettle1745
fluster1808
spufflea1825
fly (a)round1833
scrimmage1833
to come mumbudgeting1872
whew1873
spry1885
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) (at cited word) I saw Mr. A. spuffling along.
1862 G. Borrow Wild Wales xix He spuffled and sputtered in a most extraordinary manner.
1869 Spectator 25 Dec. 1518 When a Suffolk man means to tell his friend that he is making..too much fuss about anything,..he says quietly, ‘Now don't spuffle’.
2. transitive. To utter thickly or indistinctly.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > say in a particular manner [verb (transitive)] > say hastily or confusedly
rabblec1430
volley1591
sputtera1677
slobber1692
splutter1729
sputter1730
spuffle1861
1861 Temple Bar 3 292 He finds her with her mouth crammed full of food, and incapable of spuffling out a word.
Derivatives
ˈspuffling n. and adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [adjective] > brisk or active > bustling or fussing
stirringc1400
bustling1582
notable1719
scrimmaging1843
steerie1866
spuffling1893
squirrelly1928
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > [noun] > haste > disorderly
huddle1606
flurrya1774
fudder1866
spuffling1893
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > [adjective] > acting with haste > in disorder
huddling1566
helter-skelter1785
spuffling1893
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [noun] > briskness or activeness > bustle or fuss > bustling or fussing
flustering1422
bustlingc1450
buskling1546
fussation1775
fussing1826
fussification1834
rustling1872
fidget1890
spuffling1893
1893 H. T. Cozens-Hardy Broad Norfolk (Eastern Daily Press) 30 I am not sure whether spuffling is a practice peculiar to East Anglia.
1897 W. Rye Songs Norfolk 56 His spuffling overbearing ways did him harm.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
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v.a1825