Furbelow

Word of the Day for Monday March 21, 2005

furbelow \FUR-buh-low\, noun:
1. A pleated or gathered flounce on a woman's garment; a ruffle.
2. Something showy or superfluous; a bit of showy ornamentation.

In a season of ruffles, frills and furbelows, simple cuts in neutral shades stand out.
--"Designers Head for Neutral Territory," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 27, 1997

Gilt. Red velvet. Brocade. Flocked wallpaper. Swags, frills, furbelows and ornamentation beyond comprehension. We're talking rococo loco.
--Liz Braun, "Time Flies When You're Having Fun," Ottawa Sun, April 3, 2000

It is a story that, for all its hyper-animatedness, all its flips and furbelows of style, is confusing and wearisome.
--Christine Stansell, "Details, Details," New Republic, December 10, 2001

Patience is required to get past some of the director's more baroque cinematic touches, decorating the story's dark center with visual furbelows . . . and aural gimmicks.
--Lisa Schwarzbaum, "Movies: The Evil That Men Do," Entertainment Weekly, October 23, 1998


Furbelow is perhaps an alteration of Provençal farbella.
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I work in the garment district...wholesaling of fug and furbelow: