I don’t even know if there is such a word as faffing, but I seem to have spent the last week doing it; just faffing about not getting anything properly done, wasting time on trivialities, postponing things I know I need to do, procrastination on things I actually want to do…
The Cambridge Online Dictionary describes it as to spending time doing a lot of unimportant things instead of the thing that you should be doing. Exactly, nail has been hit on the head. The Urban Dictionary suggests it is wasting time doing nothing or doing stupid things, dilly-dallying and I would add shilly-shallying! The Urban Dictionary forum has an interesting slant on faffing involving something of a sexual nature, but enough of that,; they also offer faffing as the excessive use of time for nonsense activities… 100%! They have it in a nutshell!
Apparently it is not a modern word as I thought, and has meant to dither, fuss or flap since the 19th century; it is derived from ‘faffle’ which had been used since the 16th century, via the 18th century use as stuttering or stammering, and means as it does today, but also of something flapping idly in the breeze, like washing on a line, for example.
I have had washing on the line today which may have been faffing, but the worst faffing, is me… just spent the day faffing about…
Lois Elsden 
[ Smiles ] Loise, “Faffing” is a word I never used in my vocabulary. I have used way bigger words, but this one is small and simple and is seldom used by writers.
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It is such a funny word too, isn’t it?!
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One of my favorite words, Lois, often used back in urban India…Now, if only I could find some time to faff around on this busy Monday morning:)
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One of my favourite words and, alas, my most common occupation. I do sympathize. It’s all the fault of computers – they make faffing so much more efficient.
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I actually think I can faff anywhere any time… we supposed to be decorating and t has to be finished by tomorrow… so instead of painting what did i do… rearrange the cookery books!
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