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View synonyms for foozle

foozle

[ foo-zuhl ]

verb (used with or without object)

, foo·zled, foo·zling.
  1. to bungle; play clumsily:

    to foozle a stroke in golf;

    to foozle on the last hole.



noun

  1. act of foozling, especially a bad stroke in golf.

foozle

/ ˈfuːzəl /

verb

  1. to bungle (a shot)
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


noun

  1. a bungled shot
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈfoozler, noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of foozle1

First recorded in 1825–35; perhaps from dialectal German fuseln “to work badly, clumsily, hurriedly”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of foozle1

C19: perhaps from German dialect fuseln to do slipshod work
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Example Sentences

Because I thought you were such a respectable, harmless old foozle that you'd never do anything to deserve it.

If I tried a trick out of turn, I might foozle and lose prestige.

Xuriel apparently did know his job, for the King's ball continued to be as foozle-proof as the Marshal's mashie.

He was a slow, putterin' kind of an ole foozle, but on the hull a putty decent citizen.

The newspapers would denounce me as a treacherous liar—you fellows own or control or foozle them in one way and another.

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More About Foozle

What does foozle mean?

A foozle is a botched or bungled attempt at something, usually a shot in golf. It’s also a verb meaning “to bungle.”

It’s sometimes used in the gaming community to describe a final boss.

Where does foozle come from?

Foozle is recorded in the 19th century, possibly a German root meaning “to work badly or clumsily.” As a noun, foozle can mean “old fogy,” though the relationship between the two words is unclear.

Foozle has been used for bungling a golf stroke or a shot missed (foozled) since the 1890s. As The Complete Golfer critiqued a swing in 1905: “There was no power in this stroke, nothing to send the ball along. Therefore length was impossible, and a foozle was quite likely.

Foozle as a word to describe a video game’s final boss, often unimaginative and rote in form, emerged at least by the 2000s. Games or missions featuring such bosses are sometimes called kill-the-foozles. This foozle may draw on the foozle in its “bungle” or “fogy” senses.

How is foozle used in real life?

Foozle can be used in a few ways: as verbal adjective foozled (“bungled,” also slang for “drunk”), noun (e.g., That was quite the foozle!), and verb (e.g., Make sure you don’t foozle it.)

For most of the general population, foozle is a quaint, old-fashioned word and doesn’t get used much outside of video games or the golf course.

Note

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.

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