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I grew up with the word "hand muff," a cozy fluffy tube to keep hands warm in winter.

Nowadays whenever someone says "muff," someone else giggles ๐Ÿ™„

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[-] dgdft@lemmy.world 16 points 6 days ago

Circa 1699 per OED. Figurative extension of the existing meaning.

https://grammarphobia.com/blog/2017/03/muff.html

[-] edgemaster72@lemmy.world 11 points 6 days ago

a cozy fluffy tube

I think that's your why. As to when, no idea. I first heard people talk about "eating muff" or "muff diving" going back at least 25 years, but I'm sure it's probably much older than that.

[-] gramie@lemmy.ca 4 points 6 days ago

I'm pretty sure I heard the term "muff diving" in high school in the 1970s.

[-] Kolanaki@pawb.social 11 points 6 days ago

I thought it came from the thing you have pictured. But for penis instead of hands. ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™‚๏ธ

[-] swordgeek@lemmy.ca 9 points 6 days ago

I remember it being common by the late '70s.

[-] CallMeAl@piefed.zip 6 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

I use ear muffs to protect my ears from cold

edit: and in places it is popular to eat muffaletta

this post was submitted on 26 Apr 2026
14 points (93.8% liked)

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