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Tuesday, 22 March 2011

Thing to do today: make a kerfuffle.

Is there a softer or bouncier word than kerfuffle in the whole English language? The featheriness of the word is even more surprising when you think that kerfuffle means a commotion, which is rather a lumpy sort of thing.

If you're Scots you can use kerfuffle as a verb: you can kerfuffle something, which means to disarrange it.

Actually, let's borrow that usage for all the other sorts of English. It's too good to ignore.

Thing to do today: make a kerfuffleKerfuffle is from the Scots word curfuffle, from the Scottish Gaelic car, twist or turn, and fuffle to disarrange.

Go on - let the wind kerfuffle your hair!

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