faffed about
Puttered around aimlessly
Faffed about is the past tense of faff about, British slang for wasting time on trivial or ineffective activity: We faffed about for an hour trying to fix the printer.
The phrase suggests aimless puttering rather than productive work.
Also faff around.
- dawdledMoved slowly, idly
- hesitatedPaused from uncertainty
- fritteredWasted in small amounts
- wasted timeHours spent unproductively
- loiteredWaited idly somewhere
distracted · vacillated · messed around · lollygagged · piddled · dithered · meandered · pottered · idled · killed time · wavered · goofed off · horsed around · mooched · faltered · fidget · noodled · fiddle
productive action
faffed aboutgot down to business
Began serious work
focused · knuckled down · applied oneself · concentrated · buckled down
decisiveness
faffed abouttook action
Responded with effort
committed · cut to the chase · took the bull by the horns · took the plunge · bit the bullet