Worthless Word for the Day

[teapeebubbles]

the worthless word for the day is: muffish

[fr. colloq. muff, itself of uncertain origin,
but see Brewer for muff] Brit. colloq.
foolish; incompetent; clumsy
hence muffishness - foolishness; awkwardness

"By contrast everyone born since 1908 seems squat,
indigent, muffish." - Times Lit. Suppl. 14 Feb 1958

"No matter if, in the time of crinolines, she
sacrifices decency; in the time of trains,
cleanliness; in the time of tied-back skirts, modesty;
no matter either, if she makes herself a nuisance and
an inconvenience to every one she meets; the girl of
the period has done away with such moral muffishness
as consideration for others or regard for counsel and
rebuke." - Eliza Lynn Linton,
from The Girl of the Period (1868)

"Muff. A dull, stupid person. Sir Henry Muff, one of
the candidates in Dudley's interlude, called The Rival
Candidates (1774), is a stupid, blundering dolt."
- Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable