Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. physically or verbally, to waste time, to mess around, to trifle with; usu. as futz around.

1932		(con. 1910s) J.T. Farrell Young Lonigan in Studs Lonigan (1936) 56: Studs kept futzing around.
1932		J.L. Kuethe ‘Johns Hopkins Jargon’ in AS VII:5 335: phutz around—to trifle; to interfere; ‘to horse around.’.
1941		B. Schulberg What Makes Sammy Run? (1992) 140: Don’t futz around with it [i.e. a play] too long [...] Try to peddle it.
1953		F. Paley Rumble on the Docks (1955) 94: Don’t futz around if we start getting bopped.
1959		‘Monroe Fry’ Sex, Vice & Business 28: [Men] who futz around not knowing how to come out with it until you practically got to tell 'em what they want to say.
1962		S. Longstreet Flesh Peddlers (1964) 222: But no futzing around.
1975		L. Rosten Dear ‘Herm’ 196: Stop all this futzing around.
1987		T. Wolfe Bonfire of the Vanities 408: I don’t wanna have to futz around with this thing if I don’t have to.
2000		G.V. Higgins At End of Day (2001) 27: Saw Rusty this morning, Rozzie Square [...] ‘Just futzin’ around,’ he says.
2012		R. Brunet ‘Lucky for Me’ in ThugLit Dec. [ebook] [S]he’d futz with her phone, looking busy.
2021		J. Ellroy Widespread Panic 66: The call static-stuck, fuzzed and futzed, and diminuendoed to dead air.
2023		B. Dreyer on Twitter 9 Apr. 🌐 As much as I deplore futzing around with old material, I still think I could, with minimum fuss, fix the book of Lady in the Dark.

2. to fiddle with; also as futz around.

1965		(con. 1944) E.M. Nathanson Dirty Dozen (2002) 361: You were futzing around with the gun.
1978		P. Theroux Picture Palace 158: I loaded the eight-by-ten film holders and futzed with my equipment.
1983		R. Price Breaks 257: He’s muttering to himself and futzing around with the little toy bow.
1999		J. Ridley Everybody Smokes in Hell 182: Brice was futzing wih the Bose Wave radio.
2009		(con. 1960s) J. Ellroy Blood’s a Rover 27: Crutch futzed with the camera and secured it A-OK.
2013		T. Piccirilli Last Whisper in the Dark 151: I heard the men come in and futz with the alarm system keypad.
2021		J. Ellroy Widespread Panic 208: Robbie futzed with his hairnet.

3. to treat with contempt; also as futz around.

1950		Goldin et al. DAUL 156/2: Phutz. To rob; to swindle; to cheat; to use badly; to screw, screw around or screw up.
1966		B. Brunner Face of Night 165: Futz me around a little more and find out [HDAS].

4. (US) a euph. for fuck v.

c.1930

(ref. to 1899) N. Kimball Amer. Madam (1981) 288: One smiled and said to me, ‘Not a dollar left, but the futzing was real good, mam’.