# fart around

CEFR C1 · Phrasal verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/fart-around
Updated: 2026-04-24

## Definition

to waste time doing silly or unimportant things when you should be working.

For teachers: to behave in a frivolous or unproductive manner; to waste time on trivialities. Marked as informal and mildly vulgar in some dialects.

## Examples

- Stop farting around and finish your homework.
- We spent the whole afternoon farting around in the garage instead of actually fixing the car.
- While the management team continued to fart around with minor aesthetic details, the core infrastructure of the project began to collapse under its own weight.

## Pitfalls

- Not "He is farting around of the office." but "He is farting around the office." — the phrase does not require 'of' when used with a location; it functions as an intransitive verb or with a prepositional place.

## Usage notes

- highly informal and can be considered slightly rude; use only with friends or in very casual settings.
- Teaching tip: use this to teach the 'around' particle's function of indicating aimless or unproductive activity, similar to 'mess around' or 'fool around'.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.