A fuddy-duddy is a person, usually elderly, who is dull and set in his or her ways.
Yes, that's right, someone a bit like a zombie, but with an added tendency to tut, and with any bandages more professionally applied.
Spotting fuddy-duddies is a natural human instinct, and most of us have been on the alert to escape their clutches all our lives.
But beware: they can creep up on you.
Most horrifyingly of all, you sometimes find them staring at you...
...straight from the depths of the mirror.
Spot the Frippet: fuddy-duddy. This word is used in Britain, but the first mention of it actually comes from Texas in 1889. Some people wonder if the word has Scottish ancestors - fuddy meant buttocks in Scotland, and duddy meant ragged - but as those words are nothing to do with the meaning of fuddy-duddy, basically, we're left admitting that no one's got much of a clue.
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