faffed around
Puttered without purpose
Faffed around is the past tense of faff around, British slang for wasting time on trivial activities or dithering without accomplishing anything useful.
It suggests aimless pottering rather than productive work: We faffed around all morning and missed the train.
The word carries mild exasperation, often directed at oneself or others for inefficiency.
- messed aboutEngaged in aimless activity
- procrastinatedPostponed action unnecessarily
- dawdledMoved slowly, idly
- twiddling thumbsGesture of impatient boredom
- loiteredWaited idly somewhere
fiddled · distracted · meandered · spinning wheels · lingered · indecisive · lost the plot · pottered · frittered · stalled · dilly-dallied · idled · hesitant · flustered · disorganized · aimless · restless · scatterbrained
faffed aroundgot down to business
Began serious work
knuckled down · buckled down · focused · applied oneself · concentrated
faffed aroundtook action
Responded with effort
took the bull by the horns · cut to the chase · committed · executed · bit the bullet