What it means
A duffer is a lovable blunderer, someone who’s rubbish at a particular job and still gives it a go. It’s a mild, old-school jab, the kind you’d hear on a golf course, in the shed, or when someone’s DIY has gone spectacularly wrong. Can also mean a poor player, especially at golf.
Usage examples
"Swore I’d fix the leaky tap. Ten minutes later the kitchen’s flooding and Dad just sighs, you duffer, hand us the spanner."
"Bless him, he's a bit of a duffer with anything techy, he printed the email and posted it."
"I'm a total duffer at golf, lost four balls in the lake before we reached the third hole."
Where it comes from
It started as Victorian slang for a peddler of cheap, fake goods, a duffer who passed off rubbish as the real thing. The worthlessness stuck to the person, and the word drifted to mean anyone hopeless at a task, finding a cosy second home on the golf course.
Other ways to say it
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