kerfuffle
noun

- noise, excitement, argument

- a disturbance or commotion typically caused by a dispute or conflict

Cambridge Dictionary / Merriam-Webster

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ORIGIN

"Kerfuffle", which is mostly used in a negative sense, likely stems from the Scottish curfuffle (probably from Scottish-Gaelic car - twist, bend - plus the imitative fuffle - disorder). It may also be related to the Irish cior thual, which means confusion or disorder.

In addition to curfuffle, the modern spelling was preceded by variations such as gefuffle and carfuffle.

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KERFUFFLE ON THIS DAY ELEVEN YEARS AGO

On the 29th April 2011, royal-watchers around the world were in a KERFUFFLE about THE event of the year – namely, the fairytale marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Excitement extended all the way to the Pacific island of Niue*, which issued two postage stamps, with separate pictures – Kate’s could be purchased for £1.16, William’s for £1.65. The stamps created another, albeit minor KERFUFFLE, with royalists claiming that Niue had been disrespectful by not putting an image of the couple together on one stamp.

*NIUE = a small, island country in the South Pacific Ocean, located 2,400 kilometres (1,500 miles) northeast of New Zealand. With a land area of about 261 square kilometres, Niue is one of the world’s largest coral islands and is commonly referred to as “The Rock”, which comes from the traditional name “Rock of Polynesia”. Based on United Nations estimates, the population of Niue as of Tuesday, April 26, 2022, was 1,646.

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SYNONYMS OVERLOAD WARNING !!!
- for disorderly outburst, disturbance, commotion, or tumult

Judging by this multitude of synonyms, English speakers seem to have a special relationship to kerfuffles, don't you think?

ado, affray, alarums and excursions, all hell breaking loose, altercation, argumentation, argy-bargy, back-and-forth, ballyhoo, barney, battle royal, bedlam, beef, bewailing, bickering, big fuss, big scene, big stink, bluster, bone of contention, bit of bother, brouhaha, bunfight, bust-up, carry-on, catfight, chance-medley, chorus of disapproval, comings and goings, commotion, consternation, convulsions, decibels, devil to pay, ding-dong, display of emotion, dissension, disturbance, dither, do, dogfight, dramatics, dust-up, exchange of views, excitation, excitements, exhibition of oneself, explosion, falling-out, fireworks, flap, fluster, fracas, furore, fuss, fuss and bother, fuss and feathers, fussing, goings-on, hell broke loose, hell to pay, hissy fit, histrionics, holy mess, hoo-ha, howls of protest, hubba-hubba, hubble-bubble, hue and cry, hullaballoo, hurry-scurries, hysterics, indignation, katzenjammer, KERFUFFLE, kick-up, knock-down-drag-out, loud noise, melodrama, mountain out of a molehill, much ado about nothing, omnishambles, outcry, palaver, public disturbance, rat’s nest, rigmarole, rough-and-tumble, roughhouse, rowdydow, ruckus, rumpus, run-in, scene, scene of confusion, scrap, scrape, screaming, set-to, shakeout, shindig, shouting match, snake pit, song and dance, spot of bother, squabble, stand-up, stink, stir, storm in a teacup, tantrum, theatricals, to-do, tussle, uproar, verbal sparring, vexation, wingding, words, wrangle

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“A lot of people can’t understand all the KERFUFFLE around royal weddings and events.”

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THANKS to Andrea for suggesting today’s OWAD.

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HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-3

and,

Paul Smith, IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40