Phrasal verb
fart about
Definition
phrasal verb. to waste time doing silly or unimportant things instead of being productive.
phrasal verb. to behave in a frivolous or aimless manner; to waste time on trivialities. Primarily British English, informal, and potentially offensive to some listeners.
Examples
“Stop farting about and finish your homework.”
“We spent the whole afternoon farting about in the garage instead of actually fixing the car.”
“While the rest of the department worked toward the deadline, he was content to fart about with minor formatting issues that had no impact on the final report.”
Examples
simple
“Stop farting about and finish your homework.”
contextual
“We spent the whole afternoon farting about in the garage instead of actually fixing the car.”
complex
“While the rest of the department worked toward the deadline, he was content to fart about with minor formatting issues that had no impact on the final report.”
Usage
highly informal and considered mildly vulgar; avoid in professional or polite settings.
Teaching tip
advise students that this is a British colloquialism; the American equivalent is often 'mess around' or 'fool around'.
Pitfall
He is farting about his work.
He is farting about.
this phrasal verb is usually intransitive; you do not 'fart about' a specific task, you just 'fart about' generally.
Phrasal verb
Particles
about
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
fart + about
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/fart-about