fart about
British slang for wasting time or messing around without getting anything done.
Definitions
British slang for wasting time or messing around without getting anything done. Implies aimless, ineffective activity — fiddling without purpose. The tone is usually mildly exasperated, used when someone should be doing something productive but clearly isn't. Roughly synonymous with 'faff about' or 'muck about,' and slightly vulgar without being strongly offensive.
Stop farting about and just book the tickets already.
Comments
(slang) To waste time, or to fool about.
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- fart around86%
Informal slang meaning to waste time, mess about, or behave without purpose or direction. The term draws on 'fart' as a general expletive-lite intensifier (cf. 'fart about' in British usage) to convey aimless, unproductive behavior. It is mild enough to use in casual conversation without causing serious offense, though it is clearly informal speech rather than polite register. Essentially American English for the British 'fart about'.
- fart around84%
To waste time, mess about, or avoid doing what you're supposed to be doing. Farting around is the art of doing nothing useful while looking vaguely busy — scrolling your phone when you should be working, taking ages on a simple task, or just generally dithering. It's mildly vulgar but rarely offensive, and widely understood across English-speaking countries as a casual way to call out someone's time-wasting.
- fart around84%
(slang) To waste time, or to fool about.
- faff about81%
(intransitive, chiefly, UK) To waste time; to spend time idly.