to fool about
Preserved but no longer current.
Also seen as: to fool around
Meaning · English
To play the fool; to hang around in an aimless way. To fool away one's time, money, etc. To squander it, fritter it away.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to fool about” mean?
To play the fool; to hang around in an aimless way. To fool away one's time, money, etc. To squander it, fritter it away.
Is “to fool about” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.