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prettygoodwordfoofaraw (FOO-fuh-raw) - n., fuss over something of little importance; excessive or flashy ornamentation.
This is commonly thought of as an Americanism from the 1930s, and certainly that's when it became popular enough to be noticed, but it actually is another colorful 19th century Americanism, dating to the 1840s from the pioneer West and lingering in western state dialects until it came to wider attention. Its origin is uncertain, but it's commonly speculated to be a mishearing of Spanish fanfarrón, braggart/boaster, or possibly its French cognate fanfaron, with some intermixing with French froufrou, both the rustling of a woman's skirts and showy ornamentation. Which is a lot of foofaraw, if I say so myself.
---L.
This is commonly thought of as an Americanism from the 1930s, and certainly that's when it became popular enough to be noticed, but it actually is another colorful 19th century Americanism, dating to the 1840s from the pioneer West and lingering in western state dialects until it came to wider attention. Its origin is uncertain, but it's commonly speculated to be a mishearing of Spanish fanfarrón, braggart/boaster, or possibly its French cognate fanfaron, with some intermixing with French froufrou, both the rustling of a woman's skirts and showy ornamentation. Which is a lot of foofaraw, if I say so myself.
---L.
