faff around

faff around

To waste time or procrastinate by doing something unproductive or unhelpful; to fool around or spend time idly. Primarily heard in UK. Would you quit faffing around and give me a hand cleaning the house? I should have started this essay last week, but I've been faffing around with my new video game console.
See also: around, faff
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • any time means no time
  • any time
  • anytime
  • (it's) (a)bout time
  • about time
  • at all hours
  • at all hours (of the day and night)
  • about time too
  • any old time
  • ahead of (someone's or something's) time
References in periodicals archive
"I had people who would much prefer to jump in their car and go to Scotland rather than faff around getting a visa to go to Russia.
It stops people slowing your journey down by faffing around looking for change, now they only faff around looking for their Oyster cards.
Halima Khatun, 34, is a PR consultant and blogger (halimabobs.com), who lives in London: "As Mum to an 18-month-old daughter, I just don't have time to faff around with loads of products.
THE MINIMALIST "AS A mum of an 18-month-old daughter, I don't have time to faff around with loads of products.
And as I was craving orange juice and didn't want to faff around, why not go to the simplest of cocktails and open the toolbox?
So lets not faff around the edges, lets get right down into the detail and deal with 90% of it.
Dot catches Charlie and Carol unawares as they faff around with her toothbrush to get a saliva sample.
Nonsense It's a nonsense to frame their achievements - the result of punishing training regimes and self-sacrifice - alongside those of the big girls' blouses who run around the handball court or faff around on the vulgar beach constructed at Horse Guards Parade.
What was the point in last week's episode of having everyone faff around classrooms doing role-play with a load of school kids prior to performing a gig for them?
In fact in story mode I actually found it easier to use the DualShock controller than to faff around with the Move - frustrating is not the word.
Nothing infuriates me more than when I want to take them out somewhere and I am in the car, engine running while they faff around trying to find their shoes that are always kept in the shoebox or their fleeces that are always hanging up on their pegs!
Also, don't faff around taking clubs in and out of your bag.
You put them in your hair, faff around painting nails and drinking Bucks Fizz for 30 minutes, and then, 'Abracadabra!', what was once flat and lifeless is all lovely and bouncy.
At least you don't have to faff around with two applications, but I did wonder if it meant the staying power would be limited.
``It has been a tactic of trainers not to run or to faff around in hurdles in Ireland.