footle around
C1 informal inseparable intransitive
In simple words
Do nothing useful — just mess around with unimportant things.
Literal meaning: To move around in the manner of someone who footles — fussing over trifles.
Meanings
1 C1
idiomatic
informal
To waste time on unimportant or trivial activities without accomplishing anything.
"He spent the whole morning footling around and missed the meeting."
Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes
British English, decidedly old-fashioned. Virtually interchangeable with 'footle about'. More likely to be encountered in classic British literature than in modern speech.
Commonly used with
time afternoon matters day
Forms
Base
footle around
I/you/we/they
3rd person
footles around
he/she/it
Past simple
footled around
yesterday
Past participle
footled around
have + pp
-ing form
footling around
continuous
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