foo·tle

(fo͞ot′l) Informal

intr.v. foo·tled, foo·tling, foo·tles

1. To waste time; trifle.

2. To talk nonsense.

Nonsense; foolishness.

[Probably variant of footer, to screw around, from obsolete fouter, an act of sexual intercourse, from French foutre, to have sexual intercourse, from Latin futuere; see bhau- in Indo-European roots.]

foo′tler n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

footler

(ˈfuːtələ)

a person who footles

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

References in periodicals archive

Silly footler. (116-17) Tompkins's attempt to replace beauty with social commentary and political propaganda ("a telling poster") is unfortunate because it abandons aesthetics for a vision of politics divorced from caritas (Tompkins is so uncharitable as to call for the execution of those he deems to be of "no use to Society" [116]).

Art according to Romantic Theology: Charles William's analysis of Dante reapplied to J.R.R. Tolkien's "Leaf by Niggle"

All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.