futz
/fuhts/verb
Meaning
To spend time idly or unproductively, often by making unnecessary small changes, handling things repeatedly, or tinkering without a clear result. The word commonly appears in futz around and futz with.[1][2]
- 1. To waste time or mess around instead of doing something useful, usually in futz around.
- 2. To tinker with, adjust, or meddle with something, often in a mildly irritating or unnecessary way, usually in futz with.
- 3. To experiment by trial and error while trying to get something working.
Examples
“Stop futzing around and hit send.”
“I futzed with the settings until the audio sounded right.”
“We spent an hour futzing around before realizing the key was in the door.”
“Don't futz with the thermostat; it's already freezing in here.”
“He keeps futzing with the layout instead of posting the update.”
Origin and spread
Futz is an informal North American verb whose modern sense is documented by 1932, including in James T. Farrell's Young Lonigan. Its origin is not completely settled. A leading explanation connects it with the vulgar Yiddish phrase arumfartsn zikh, literally “to fart around,” while other references have suggested that it may have developed as a softened form of fuck or through association with putz. The phrase futz around became the clearest everyday construction, and futz with developed for meddling with a particular object or task.[1]
How to use it
Futz is casual and mildly dismissive: it often suggests that someone is wasting time or making needless adjustments. Futz around is used for aimless activity, while futz with takes an object, as in futz with the controls. It is most natural in conversation, messages, and informal writing, not formal reports.
Sources
- 1. Jewish English Lexicon — futzSupports: meaning, origin.
- 2. A.Word.A.Day — futzSupports: meaning, earliest documented use.
