fuddy-duddy

[ fuhd-ee-duhd-ee, -duhd-ee ]

noun

, plural fud·dy-dud·dies.

1. a person who is stuffy, old-fashioned, and conservative.
2. a person who is fussy or picayune about details; fussbudget.

adjective

1. stuffy, old-fashioned, and conservative.
2. fussy; picayune.

fuddy-duddy

/ ˈfʌdɪˌdʌdɪ /

noun

1. informal.
   a person, esp an elderly one, who is extremely conservative or dull

Word History and Origins

Origin of fuddy-duddy¹

First recorded in 1900–05; of obscure origin

Word History and Origins

Origin of fuddy-duddy¹

C20: of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

Richard Martin says: "It was the 60s, the government wanted to be modern and thrusting, it wanted to get rid of old fuddy-duddy stuff."

From BBC

Few Britons now recoil at the prospect of King Charles III, even if he sometimes seems more a fuddy-duddy uncle than a national patriarch.

From New York Times

“She’s always very smartly turned out but appropriate for her age. Not so fuddy-duddy as she used to be.’

From Seattle Times

He is no longer the fuddy-duddy who loses at golf to enhance relations with a business client, and drinks too much, but an unlikely spy who takes his frustrations out on his family.

From Salon

Second comes the flash of unexpected delight — surprise that an old fuddy-duddy cocktail your grandparents drank could taste so good.

From New York Times