bumfoolery
British slang for messing about, wasting time, or engaging in pointless, silly behavior — sometimes used with a vague implication of inappropriate or undignified conduct.
Definitions
British slang for messing about, wasting time, or engaging in pointless, silly behavior — sometimes used with a vague implication of inappropriate or undignified conduct. The word plays on 'tomfoolery' by swapping in 'bum' for its comedic British value. In modern usage, it mostly just means doing something daft or getting into mischief, and has shed most of the loaded connotations it once carried.
There was too much bumfoolery going on at the back of the bus for the teacher to even pretend to ignore it.
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(slang) Messing about, often in a homosexual way.
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Semantically related
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A blunt British slang term for anal sex. The word 'bum' (British English for buttocks) does the heavy lifting here, making this one of those transparently descriptive compounds that leaves nothing to the imagination. It's used casually in British vernacular — sometimes crudely, sometimes humorously — and appears across comedy, casual conversation, and tabloid journalism. It can be used without specific reference to the genders or orientations of those involved.
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(obsolete, slang) bum; bottom.
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(British, Irish, obsolete) Toilet paper.
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(UK, dialect, dated) An idle fellow.