footle about/around
about 和 around 可互换，常后接地点或 doing sth，表示漫无目的地消磨时间。
They footled about all afternoon instead of working.
他们整个下午都在闲混，没有干活。
说废话；胡说八道；瞎扯；浪费时间；闲混；胡说八道；说呆话；做笨事
To waste time or trifle.
浪费时间；闲混
To waste time; to trifle.
胡说八道
To talk nonsense.
一般现在时
He often footles around instead of working.
他经常闲逛而不工作。
一般过去时
She footled away the whole afternoon yesterday.
她昨天整个下午都在瞎混。
现在进行时
Stop footling and get to work!
别再闲混了，开始工作！
动词规则变化，意为闲混或说傻话。
Stop footling and get to work!
别再说傻话了，开始干活吧！
用法提示：footle 作为动词，表示说傻话、做无聊事，这里用祈使句要求停止这种行为。
He spent the whole afternoon footling around instead of studying.
他整个下午都在瞎混，而不是学习。
用法提示：footle around 表示做笨事、浪费时间，这里描述他闲逛不学习。
She footled with the buttons on her coat, avoiding eye contact.
她笨拙地摆弄着外套上的纽扣，避免目光接触。
用法提示：footle 表示做笨拙或无意义的小动作，这里用过去式 footled。
about 和 around 可互换，常后接地点或 doing sth，表示漫无目的地消磨时间。
They footled about all afternoon instead of working.
他们整个下午都在闲混，没有干活。
away 后接被浪费的时间，如 the day、the afternoon。
He footled away the whole morning on trivial matters.
他把整个上午都浪费在琐事上。
grammar · medium
易错句子They spent the whole afternoon footleing about in the park.
正确表达They spent the whole afternoon footling about in the park.
footle 以不发音的 e 结尾，加 -ing 时要先去掉这个 e，写成 footling；保留 e 的 footleing 属于拼写错误，规则与 make → making 相同。
grammar · medium
易错句子We had a footle in the garden after lunch.
正确表达We footled in the garden after lunch.
footle 是动词，不能像汉语“闲混”那样直接当名词用，所以不能说 have a footle；表示“闲混了一阵”时应把 footle 的过去式 footled 用作谓语动词。
fiddle 常以 fiddle around/about 出现，指无目的地摆弄或瞎忙，常暗示手上小动作；footle 更泛指闲混、虚度时间，不一定有具体小动作。
fritter 通常以 fritter away 出现，宾语常是 time、money 等，强调一点点浪费掉；footle 可单独使用，不强调逐渐耗尽，也不一定带宾语。
potter 在英式英语中常搭 about/around，多指轻松地做零碎小事（美式常作 putter）；footle 更强调无所事事地消磨时间，贬义更明显。
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