muck about

1. To be idle or do something without much purpose. Quit mucking about and help me take out the trash! What are you doing mucking about with those knuckleheads? You're going to get into trouble.

2. To meddle, interfere, or fiddle (with something), especially in a careless or thoughtless manner. Please don't muck about with the thermostat, I have it set exactly the way I want it. I've been mucking about with the melody but haven't been able to get it quite right.

3. To say or do something in a playful, jocular manner. There's a group of boys who always spend the whole class mucking about. Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I was only mucking about!

4. To treat someone poorly or carelessly, especially in a deceptive or misleading manner. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "muck" and "about." Their customer service team has been mucking me about for the last few days about this issue. You can't muck about your employees like that. They deserve to know