fuzzy-wuzzy

/ ˈfʌzɪˌwʌzɪ /

noun

1. archaic.
   a Black fuzzy-haired native of any of various countries

Example Sentences

Rather than fuzzy-wuzzy sentimentalism, that liminal space between objective reality and the netherworld is presented as a natural, if exceedingly rare, fact of life.

From Washington Post

So did satin power jacket/plissé gown hybrids; Crayola-toned skinny jeans with matching jean jackets; simple white T-shirts with serious shoulder pads; suspenders; and a Big Bird fuzzy-wuzzy onesie covered in bright yellow tubular beads.

From New York Times

The filmmaker's taken care to ensure all the favorite story bits are there — the jungle, the marmalade, the hat, the adorable English-speaking fuzzy-wuzzy turning up in London with a "Please look after this bear" tag around his neck.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s all played for minimum dramatic tension and maximum aestheticized wish fulfillment, heightened by Cutler’s tendency to film everything slightly out of focus and Cross’s to write fuzzy-wuzzy dialogue like “Adam, that song was great.”

From Washington Post

These books are all harvested from EC’s gory glory years, 1950-1955, when it mutated from Educational Comics to Entertaining Comics, stopped printing fuzzy-wuzzy titles like Saddle Romances and Tiny Tot, and shifted to mags like Tales From the Crypt, Shock SuspenStories and Two-Fisted Tales.

From New York Times

About This Word

More context on fuzzy-wuzzy

Fuzzy-wuzzy was a bear? Not even close.

Fuzzy-wuzzy was a racist slur for Black people (as from Africa, Australia, or Papua New Guinea), stereotyped for their hair texture. British soldiers used the slur in the 1800s. Fuzzy-wuzzy was then used in a nursery rhyme and in a Rudyard Kipling poem, both of which apparently helped popularize the term.

Today, fuzzy-wuzzy is used as cutesy talk, in the form of a baby-talk reduplication. But remember that fuzzy-wuzzy, especially used as a noun and not an adjective, has a painful, racist past.

If knowing the history of fuzzy-wuzzy has got you reflecting on your word choices, this slideshow, “These Common Words Have Offensive Histories,” discusses many other words whose place in your vocab you may want to reconsider. 

Keep in mind …

There are plenty of other adjectives you can use instead of fuzzy-wuzzy if you want to describe something as, well, fuzzy. In fact, plain, old fuzzy works just fine. You can also consider synonyms for fuzzy, including furry, hairy, wooly, and frizzy. Visit Thesaurus.com for more.

If you want to refer to an object that is cute and fuzzy, perhaps fuzzball or ball of fuzz will work. Or, fur ball, pile of fluff—don’t be afraid to get creative.