To Fluff Your Lines Is to Get Them Wrong
Fluff is soft light material. As a verb it means to bungle something, especially a line in a performance.
Fluff is soft light fibrous material, the kind that collects in pockets and under beds. As a verb it means to bungle: an actor who *fluffs a line* delivers it wrongly, and a golfer who fluffs a shot mishits it. The link is insubstantiality — a fluffed effort lacks solidity, just as fluff lacks weight. *Fluff* also means light entertainment with no substance, as in a fluff piece.
- Soft light material. *Pocket fluff.*
- To bungle. *He fluffed his lines.*
- To shake up. *Fluff the pillows.*
- Light entertainment. *A fluff piece.*
- Fluffy — soft and light. *A fluffy towel.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | fluff | A bit of fluff. |
| Verb | fluff | Fluff it up. |
| Past | fluffed | He fluffed it. |
| Adjective | fluffy | Fluffy clouds. |
| Related | flue | Flue, an old word for fluff. |
- There was fluff all over the jumper.Material.
- He fluffed his opening line.Theatre.
- Fluff the pillows before guests arrive.Shaking up.
British names for pocket fluff
- Fluff — the general British word
- Lint — the American equivalent, and also medical dressing
- Oose — Scots and northern English
- Navel fluff — the specific and much-studied kind
- Dust bunny — the American name for the kind under furniture
Recorded from the 1700s, probably a variant of the older *flue*, meaning down or soft fibres, possibly of Flemish origin.
Why does fluff mean to make a mistake?
From the sense of insubstantiality. A fluffed line or shot lacks the solidity of a proper one.
What is a fluff piece?
A light, undemanding article or broadcast item with no serious content, usually flattering its subject.