Fuddy-duddy
Encyclopedia
A fuddy-duddy, sometimes without the dash, is a person who is fussy while old-fashioned, traditionalist, conformist, or conservative, sometimes almost to the point of eccentricity
or geekiness. It is a slang
term, mildly derogatory but sometimes affectionate too, that dates to ca. 1907 and can be used to describe someone with a zealous focus on order.
The terms fusspot, fusser, stick-in-the-mud, spoilsport, wet blanket, old fogy/fogey, stuffed -21258-8, 9780415212588 Edition reprint Publisher Taylor & Francis, 2006
ISBN 0-415-25937-1, 9780415259378 Length 2189 pages, page 820 and fuddy-dud are abbreviated forms of the term.
car manufacturer was referred to as a fuddy-duddy brand in a 2004 Popular Science article. It is also used in the title of juvenile fiction novels including Kay Hoflander's The Chautauqua Kids and the Fuddy Duddy Daddy: A Tale of Pancakes & Baseball, Uncle Fuddy-Duddy Rabbit Tales by Roy Windham and Polly Rushton. and Uncle Fuddy-Duddy Learns to Fly!.
and may have originated as a fused phrase made to form a rhyming jingle. Duddy is similar to Daddy and may have caught on from children's rhyming.
cartoons character Elmer Fudd
. The terms frump and old fart have also been used as words to designate similar qualities.
Female figures have been labeled with similar meaning terms including school marm, or marm, as for an older female disciplinarian such as a stereotypical type of strict teacher.
Eccentricity
Eccentricity or eccentric may refer to:* Off-center* Eccentricity , odd behavior on the part of a person, as opposed to being "normal"* Eccentricity of a vertex in a graph...
or geekiness. It is a slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
term, mildly derogatory but sometimes affectionate too, that dates to ca. 1907 and can be used to describe someone with a zealous focus on order.
The terms fusspot, fusser, stick-in-the-mud, spoilsport, wet blanket, old fogy/fogey, stuffed -21258-8, 9780415212588 Edition reprint Publisher Taylor & Francis, 2006
ISBN 0-415-25937-1, 9780415259378 Length 2189 pages, page 820 and fuddy-dud are abbreviated forms of the term.
Application
Ambrose Bierce's story Who Drives Oxen Should Himself be Sane, published in 1918, starts out with a use of the phrase and discussion of it as a "unique adjuration".Fuddy-duddy is used to indicate "stuffiness" and "outmoded tastes and manners". The Rolls RoyceRolls-Royce Motor Cars
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is a British manufacturer of luxury automobiles based at the Goodwood plant in West Sussex, England. It is the current producer of Rolls-Royce branded automobiles, whose historical production dates back to 1904. The factory is located across from the historic Goodwood Circuit...
car manufacturer was referred to as a fuddy-duddy brand in a 2004 Popular Science article. It is also used in the title of juvenile fiction novels including Kay Hoflander's The Chautauqua Kids and the Fuddy Duddy Daddy: A Tale of Pancakes & Baseball, Uncle Fuddy-Duddy Rabbit Tales by Roy Windham and Polly Rushton. and Uncle Fuddy-Duddy Learns to Fly!.
Etymology
Fuddy-duddy is considered a word based on duplicationDuplication
Duplication, duplicate, and duplicator may refer to:Art and fiction* Duplicate , a Bollywood film directed by Mahesh Bhatt* Duplicate , a 2009 Malayalam film...
and may have originated as a fused phrase made to form a rhyming jingle. Duddy is similar to Daddy and may have caught on from children's rhyming.
Gender role
Fuddy-duddy is often used to refer to a man perceived as stodgy or foolish, and in some cases, effeminate. It's been used throughout the 20th Century, but its origins are unknown. The short form fud, may relate to the Bugs BunnyBugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
cartoons character Elmer Fudd
Elmer Fudd
Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...
. The terms frump and old fart have also been used as words to designate similar qualities.
Female figures have been labeled with similar meaning terms including school marm, or marm, as for an older female disciplinarian such as a stereotypical type of strict teacher.