hairball

hairball

1. Literally, a clump of hair or fur, as coughed up by a cat. Also called a "furball." Gross, it looks like Fluffy coughed up a hairball on the rug.
2. Something that is in a state of disorder or confusion. I thought relocating these files would be a straightforward process, but it's turned into a real hairball.
3. Someone who is irritating or obnoxious, especially when drunk. If I get hit on at all, it'll just be by some loud hairball who'll spill half his drink on me. No thanks.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

hairball

1. and furball n. an obnoxious person. I wish that the guys I date didn’t always turn out to be hairballs. Shut up, you skanky furball!
2. exclam. How awful! (Usually Hairball! An exclamation of disgust. From the name of the undigested mass of fur vomited by a cat.) Hairball! I did it wrong again!
3. n. a mess; something difficult or unpleasant. My life has become a hairball. I can’t go on.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • furball
  • stand on end
  • lung butter
  • lung-butter
  • fur baby
  • barf up
  • clump up
  • gag on
  • gag on (something)
  • sweep (something) under the rug, to
References in periodicals archive
After grooming, wipe your cat with a clean cloth to remove any loose hairs and feed your pet commercial cat food specifically formulated to reduce hairballs.
PET CARE
Method Two: A metal coat hanger is good for about one million different uses--one of which is reaching into tub drains and pulling out large hairballs. Cut a long length of hanger and bend the end into a closed "C" hook and the other in an "O"-shaped handle.
How to solve a hairy situation
Canned pumpkin has an advantage over oil-based hairball remedies: Overusing the latter can decrease the absorption of some essential nutrients.
Running free: is your dog ready to play with others without a leash?
For example, many hairball remedies are petroleum-based, whereas Vet Basis Healthy Breath & Body for Cats is a gel of canola oil, hydrogenated vegetable oil and cod liver oil ($11.99).
Perks for pets: nutritional supplements for Fluffy and Fido
It's a musical hairball coughed up by posh kids for critics who are old enough to remember the thrill of early Talking Heads, Postcard Records (Scotland's great lost indie label) and Rough Trade.
Perpective: Streets ahead - except in London, of course; Brum was robbed by a load of London luvvies again. Post rock critic Andrew Cowen is not amused
Catwoman ``belongs in the litter box'', according to USA Today, while the New York Post described it as ``about as sexy as a hairball'', despite Berry's skin tight leather catsuit.
Catwoman Halle purrs into town for premiere
USA Today said Catwoman 'belongs in the litter box' while the New York Post described it as 'about as sexy as a hairball.'
Purrfect show at premiere
So, we kick off this month with April Fool's Day, No Housework Day, National Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day, and National Hairball Awareness Day.
Celebrate!
Woodward Jim "Hairball" Morton Charlie Finn Phil Robbins Sean Nelson Isaac Hoskins Jay R.
The Year That Trembled
"It will take a while to unravel the hairball," he conceded.
Sun Plans to Simplify Upgrade Cycles
Jon's Peromalt Hairball Remedy; 2002 Food Tube of the Year for Vetoquinol USA's JumpStart; 2002 Household Industrial Tube of the year for Dow Corning High Vacuum Grease and 2002 Innovative Tube of the Year for TIGI's bead Head Dumb Blonde Reconstructor.
CCL honored with top Tube Council Awards. (Packaging News)
Favorite book: Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving With Grace, by Gordon MacKenzie (Viking Press, 1998).
Staying in touch by reaching out: this superintendent will be the first to admit that Friday is her favorite day of the week. (Administrator profile: Kathryn Baker)
"Environmental health lies right in the middle of the great tangled hairball of research," says Sherry Marts, the society's scientific director.
Sex matters: exploring differences in responses to exposures. (NIEHS News)
Huntoon says of laundry returned from outsourcers, "We were getting thin, torn gowns, or a hairball in the middle of a stack of washcloths, or sheets with some hospital's name on them.
A new spin on an old issue
An antidote to the trite way that creativity gets commercialized is the definitive and delightful "Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace" by Gordon MacKenzie.
SETTLING INTO ORBIT