kerfuffle

noun

ker·​fuf·​fle kər-ˈfə-fəl 

plural kerfuffles

informal

: a disturbance or commotion typically caused by a dispute or conflict

In all the kerfuffle, nobody seemed to have noticed Harry, which suited him perfectly.

—J. K. Rowling

It's not the only school with dress code issues; almost every week there's a local story about some kerfuffle over what kids wear to school.

—Belinda Luscombe

Did you know?

The Evolution of Kerfuffle

Fuffle is an old Scottish verb that means “to muss” or “to throw into disarray”—in other words, to (literally) ruffle someone’s (figurative) feathers. The addition of car-, possibly from a Scottish Gaelic word meaning “wrong” or “awkward,” didn’t change its meaning much. In the 19th century carfuffle, with its variant curfuffle, became a noun, which in the 20th century was embraced by a broader population of English speakers and standardized to kerfuffle, referring to a more figurative feather-ruffling. There is some kerfuffle among language historians over how the altered spelling came to be favored. One theory holds that it might have been influenced by onomatopoeic words like kerplunk that imitate the sound of a falling object hitting a surface.

Synonyms

• ado
• alarums and excursions
• ballyhoo
• blather
• bluster
• bobbery
• bother
• bustle
• clatter
• clutter [chiefly dialect]
• coil
• commotion
• corroboree [Australian]
• disturbance
• do [chiefly dialect]
• foofaraw
• fun
• furor
• furore
• fuss
• helter-skelter
• hoo-ha
• hoo-hah
• hoopla
• hubble-bubble
• hubbub
• hullabaloo
• hurly
• hurly-burly
• hurricane
• hurry
• hurry-scurry
• hurry-skurry
• moil
• pandemonium
• pother
• row
• ruckus
• ruction
• rumpus
• shindy
• splore [Scottish]
• squall
• stew
• stir
• storm
• to-do
• tumult
• turmoil
• uproar
• welter
• whirl
• williwaw
• zoo

Examples of kerfuffle in a Sentence

predictably, the royal scandal caused quite a kerfuffle on Fleet Street

Recent Examples on the Web

Roughly 60 police officers arrived at the scene at Adas Torah, the Los Angeles Police Department told the LA Times, adding that a recent, similar protest at a North Hollywood synagogue brought 25 protesters — a fraction of the number at Sunday’s violent kerfuffle in Pico-Robertson. —Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 June 2024

The kerfuffle underscores how these kinds of promotional items can bring extra attention and publicity to companies, especially as Krispy Kreme said in a recent earnings call that the doughnut maker is trying to keep its brand fresh for consumers. —Erika Tulfo, CNN, 23 June 2024

That’s the kerfuffle reverberating through the halls of the state Capitol, all centering on how to tighten penalties for retail theft. —Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Orange County Register, 17 June 2024

Perhaps the most fascinating argument in all of this is that this entire kerfuffle is over a minuscule amount of minutes on the end of the bench. —Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 11 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

alteration of carfuffle, from Scots car- (probably from Scottish Gaelic cearr wrong, awkward) + fuffle to become disheveled

First Known Use

1908, in the meaning defined above

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