Green’s Dictionary of Slang

to dawdle, to mess around, to waste time.

1963		K. Waterhouse Jubb (1966) 166: You’re in the shit up to here and sooner you [...] stop fart-arsing about the better.
1978		(con. 1940s) O. Manning Battle Lost and Won 260: We’d been fart-arsing around.
1983		S. Gee Never in My Lifetime in Best Radio Plays (1984) 80: I didn’t want to sit at home fart-arsing around, I wanted to get a gun and go over myself and do something.
1985		R.G. Barrett You Wouldn’t Be Dead for Quids (1989) 156: We won’t fart-arse around. We’ll make this [...] a take.
1996		J. Byrell Lairs, Urgers & Coat-Tuggers 62: The Scholar [...] did not fart-arse around and immediately enquired as to whether she could possibly see her way clear to attend the Cup with Big Oscar.
1999		G. Seal Lingo 123: The fart-arse, one who fart-arses about very busily but gets nowhere [...] For example, [...] ‘Will you stop fart-arsing and come here?’.
2002		R.G. Barrett Mystery Bay Blues 14: Ray suggested they brush the bogie hole and just fartarse around in front of the boat sheds.
2006		Ask Captain Sensible at www.officialdamned.com 🌐 I’ve got better bloomin’ things to do with me life than fart-arse about on a poncy bleedin computer all day.
2014		me-stepmums-too-fuckin-hot-mate at www.fakku.net 🌐 Don’t fartarse around, hurry up and finish me off.