messing about
Doing nothing productive
Messing about means occupying oneself without serious purpose—puttering, tinkering, or passing time idly: We spent the afternoon messing about in the garden.
It can also mean behaving foolishly or wasting time when you should be working: Stop messing about and finish your homework.
British English favors messing about; Americans typically say messing around.
- fiddlingAimless, restless manipulation
- dabblingShallow, casual involvement
- potteringAimless light activity
- fooling aroundIdle playful behavior
- pokingLight repeated jabbing
goofing off · skylarking · futzing · fidgeting · horsing around · monkeying around · fooling with · wasting time · passing time · high jinks · having a laugh · dicking · dawdling · loafing · bumming around · shenanigans · pranks · tinkering
messing aboutgetting down to business
Focusing on the task
focusing · concentrating · applying oneself · buckling down · knuckling down
about, mess, messy, messed, messes, messiness, messing, messily, messier