Faff vs Pfaff - What's the difference?
faff | pfaff |
(British, slang) An unnecessary or over-complicated task, especially one perceived as a waste of time.
* 2011 , Patrick Kingsley, "
(British, slang) To waste time on an unproductive activity.
:She faffed about so much, she never got to eat her breakfast.
(British, slang)
* 2004 , Chris Ward, The controversial Sämisch King's Indian , p81
*26 Sep 2005 -- BBC News, England Atlantic slow row coming to end [http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolpda/ifs_news/hi/newsid_4283000/4283702.stm?(none)]
In british slang terms the difference between pfaff and faff
is that pfaff is an alternative spelling of lang=en while faff is to waste time on an unproductive activity.As a noun faff is
an unnecessary or over-complicated task, especially one perceived as a waste of time.faff
English
Noun
(en noun)- Adjusting this television is a bit of a faff .
Life with the Queen Mum revealed", The Guardian
- Breakfast in bed at the royal household is a massive faff . A page boy must carry the tray upstairs, but he's banned from actually serving it. So he leaves it on the floor by the bedroom door, whereupon a housemaid picks it up and knocks on said portal.
Verb
(en verb)- I decided to stop faffing about and get some work done.
Usage notes
* Particularly used with .Synonyms
* (l) (American)pfaff
English
Verb
(en verb)- By my own admission I pfaffed around a bit here but I'm going to claim that I was merely enjoying the moment!
- Mr Hicks wrote on his website: "At dusk the rudder cable broke
- At dusk the rudder cable broke. "Six hours pfaffing about in the dark and heaving sea saw a fairly unsatisfactory makeshift steering system into place"