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April 14, 2006
I Kerfuffle, You Kerfuffle, We Kerfuffle
I'm ever-interested in unusual words that show up in articles and elsewhere. So, I was reading a piece in the WSJ today about how publishers plan to double their production of memoirs (blame reality TV for a fascination with mundane lives lived), and right there in paragraph twelve was the word:Given the recent kerfuffle regarding Mr. Frey's book ....Kerfuffle. Now there's a favorite word of mine you don't see much:
Main Entry: ker-fuf-fleThe Scots know how to craft 'em.
Pronunciation: k&r-'f&-f&l
Function: noun
Etymology: alteration of carfuffle, from Scots car- (probably from Scottish Gaelic cearr wrong, awkward) + fuffle to become disheveled
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Franklin -- I had no idea James was pushing the word "kerfuffle". Love the t-shirts tho!
My guess would be that it is the BBC's "Little Britain" that is popularizing "kerfuffle".
I catch myself saying it now that I've watched the first year of the series.
Kerfuffle is definitely a good one -- right up there with brouhaha.
"Mundane is the new punk"
James Taranto of WSJ's OpinionJournal has been running a grassroots "kerfuffle" campaign for years now, just to popularize the word.
You can actually buy a t-shirt: http://tinyurl.com/nr4sa