fumfer

present singular third person fumfers · participle present fumfering · participle past fumfered · past fumfered · alternative phumpher · alternative fumper

1. USambitransitiveinformalTo speak awkwardly or evasively; to dither, waffle.

   She fumfered around and refused to give a straight answer.

   5 more examples

   In school, Dr. Noah heard lectures on [Sigmund] Freud, [Carl] Jung and [Alfred] Adler. There wasn't much chance to try out their ideas in Monticello. Pragmatic medicine was practiced up there. To fumfer with the locals, any dreams, say what's in the mind, what do you see in the blots, would produce too many complications.

   1975, Harvey Jacobs, “[First Steps in the Age of the Atom] Thursday”, in Summer on a Mountain of Spices, New York, N.Y.; […]: Harper & Row, →ISBN, page 192

   "Well," she continued, searching for the right words, "you're young, you're attractive, you're . . . no threat, if you know what I mean." Ron looked Liz straight in the eye. "I-don't-know-what-you-mean." / "Well, you know . . ." Liz fumfered. "You and Talbot."

   1983, David Marlow, chapter 32, in Winning Is Everything, New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN, page 108

   It was not what I had expected. I began to fumfer. "Perhaps I'm just here to buy a cookbook on Afghan cuisine."

   1998, Lydia Adamson, chapter 5, in A Cat on Stage Left (An Alice Nestleton Mystery; 16), New York, N.Y.: Signet Books, →ISBN, page 56

   The interviewer began the dialogue by asking if my father would feel equal outrage had the blacklist targeted Nazis rather than Communists. Wrong-footed, Frank [Tarloff] fumfered some sort of response.

   2011 September 21, Erik Tarloff, “My Father Was a Communist”, in James Bennet, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 09 Aug 2022

   President Trump's tax-reform rollout came stumbling out of the gate this week. And much of the blame belongs to the clumsy, hacky salesmanship of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Council Chairman Gary Cohn, who fumfered his way through an awkward White House press briefing.

   2017 September 27, Daniel Gross, “Why Steve Mnuchin and Gary Cohn Are So Bad at Selling [Donald] Trump’s Tax Plan”, in Slate, New York, N.Y.: The Slate Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 Nov 2022

   Synonyms: mutter, mouth, mumble, murmur

2. USambitransitiveinformalTo fiddle or fumble.

   I fumfered with the USB stick, trying and failing to plug it in.

   5 more examples

   There was a candle on the nightstand, she remembered. After a great deal of fumbling and fumfering around in the dark, she managed to get it lighted.

   1995, Marcia Rose, “That Night”, in Like Mother, Like Daughter, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 236

   For an excruciating half hour, Jeremiah starts the engine, fumfers with things in the cab, gets out to polish the hood ornament, shakes hands, waves good-byes.

   2001, Robert M[orris] Sapolsky, “The Coca-Cola Devil”, in A Primate's Memoir […], New York, N.Y.; […]: Scribner, →ISBN, part 1 (The Adolescent Years: When I First Joined the Troop), page 64

   Take, for instance, the media executive who told me he got hooked on Lost via iTunes, tried to watch it on television one Wednesday night, realized he didn't know what network it was on, started fumfering around with TV listings, and then decided it was just easier stick to downloads.

   2006 May 15, Jon Fine, “Local TV's Clear Shot At The Net”, in Bloomberg Businessweek, New York, N.Y.: Bloomberg L.P., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Apr 2023

   Or perhaps it's having to watch tens of thousands of passengers fumfer around in their bags, unload their electronics, plastic bags, shoes and water bottles.

   2014 August 27, Marissa Rothkopf Bates, “The Sparrow Rolling Bag Is Designed to Roll Through the TSA”, in Newsweek, New York, N.Y.: Newsweek Publishing LLC, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 01 Feb 2022

   I'm still fumfering with the infotainment system in my Sorento.

   2015 August 5, Jason Fogelson, “2016 Kia Sorento Long-Term Update #2: Road Trip”, in Forbes, New York, N.Y.: Forbes Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 Nov 2016

   Synonyms: feel around, fumble, scrabble, fish, forage, scramble, glaum, grabble