fug

Definition

A heavy, musty, stuffy or unpleasant atmosphere, usually in a poorly-ventilated area.

Etymology

Unknown. Compare British slang fogo (“stench”) and English fog, or possibly a blend of funk + fog.

Example Sentences

• "'Made one quite thankful to get back to the fug, though as a rule I think the way these trains are overheated is something scandalous'."
• "On certain days, when hot currents shimmered off Oyster's Reef, we would detect the chalk-dust of the mullock heaps, acrid; or, from the opal mines themselves, the ghastly fug of the tunnels and shafts."
• "The gym teacher left that year, his successors had no interest in boxing, and society soon passed into a zone where the idea of thirteen-year-old boys punching each other's faces for educational purposes became as unthinkable as the dense fug of tobacco smoke in our school's staff room."