kerfuffle

• cufuffle, cuffuffle, curfuffle, gefuffle, kafuffle, kerfluff, kerfluffle, kurfuffle
• fuffle (by apheresis)

Probably from Scots curfuffle, equivalent to ker- +‎ fuffle, or related to Irish cíor thuathail (“confusion, bewilderment”). Similar to modern Welsh cythrwfl (“uproar, trouble, agitation”)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kəˈfʌfəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /kɚˈfʌfəl/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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• Rhymes: -ʌfəl

kerfuffle (plural kerfuffles)

1. (chiefly Commonwealth, informal) A disorderly outburst, disturbance, commotion, or tumult. [from 19th c.]

   Synonyms: brouhaha, donnybrook, fracas, hubbub, hullabaloo, mess, racket

   • 2009 May 22, Stuart Heritage, “Jon & Kate Latest: People You Don’t Know Do Crap You Don’t Care About”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎:

     You know all this kerfuffle about Jordan and Peter Andre, and how you don’t know if they’re really splitting up or it’s just an act […]

   • 2011 June 6, Mark Memmott, “Sarah Palin's Had Her Say; Now Let's Hear From Paul Revere”, in The Two-Way‎, National Public Radio:

     There's been a bit of a kerfuffle the past couple days over something Sarah Palin said about Paul Revere.

   • 2023 May 28, Nadia Asparouhova, “Remembering GitHub's Office, a Monument to Tech Culture”, in Wired‎, →ISSN:

     The debate seemed innocuous—a minor kerfuffle, but nothing that couldn’t be resolved and moved on from.

• kerfluff
• kerfuffly

kerfuffle (third-person singular simple present kerfuffles, present participle kerfuffling, simple past and past participle kerfuffled)

1. (chiefly Ireland, British, Commonwealth, informal) To make a disorderly outburst or commotion.