What it means
Duffer is an old-school British word for someone who's a bit useless at a thing, especially when they're bodging a practical job, fluffing something simple, or playing like absolute wallpaper at golf. It's usually a soft dig, more fond ribbing than proper insult.
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."
"You absolute duffer, you spent an hour building the shelf upside down and only noticed when the cat jumped on it."
"I'm no good at golf, mate. Total duffer. If the ball lands on the fairway, that's basically a miracle shift."
Where it comes from
Duffer is recorded in 19th-century British slang for a hawker or seller of sham goods, and also for someone passing off rubbish as genuine. From there it drifted into meaning an incompetent or worthless person. By late Victorian English it had settled into a mild, often affectionate put-down, especially in golf.
