buffoonery

/bəˈfunəri/

Other forms: buffooneries

If someone tells you to cut out the buffoonery, you may want to consider taking the French fries out of your nostrils. Buffoonery means acting like a clown.

Notice how buffoon sounds like puff? Well, they're related. Buffare is an Italian word meaning "puff out the cheeks," which is apparently something that Italian court jesters, or buffoons, liked to do in the 1700s. Guess you had to be there.

Definitions of buffoonery

1. noun

   acting like a clown or buffoon
   synonyms: clowning, frivolity, harlequinade, japery, prank

   types:

   schtick, schtik, shtick, shtik

   (Yiddish) a prank or piece of clowning

   type of:

   craziness, folly, foolery, indulgence, lunacy, tomfoolery

   foolish or senseless behavior