In Harry Potter’s story, Fluffy is a monstrous looking dog with three heads. But if I look up dictionaries the word might have the meaning of ‘very cute fluffy dog’, I thought. So I like to call him ‘bok-shee-ree’(복실이) in Korean – it generally means a cute puppy or a kind looking girl. I wonder what kind of images do English natives recall, except the Harry Potter’s Fluffy, when they hear the word?
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Just as a reference, I looked up what they called "Fluffy" in the Korean Harry Potter text and its just the transliteration "플러피" I'm kinda disappointed since that's part of the joke is Fluffy is supposed to sound like a cute thing (ie: a bunny or a poodle) and to Hagrid a three headed dog IS a cute thing :)– BobCommented Mar 30, 2013 at 15:23
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@Bob: What do you mean 'disappointed'? It preserves the joke, doesn't it?– MitchCommented Mar 30, 2013 at 16:21
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2 Answers
Fluffy means just that, fluffy.
adjective (fluffier, fluffiest)
1 of, like, or covered with fluff:
a fluffy kitten
fluffy white clouds
The usage in Harry Potter is ironic: the dog is anything but “fluffy”, so it gets that name. Similar usages are to call short people “Lofty”, or tall people “Shorty” or “Little” (like “Little John” in Robin Hood).
answered Mar 30, 2013 at 10:29
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3In fact it is doubly ironic, for the half-giant Hagrid actually regards his monstrous and dangerous pets as cute and adorable. Commented Mar 30, 2013 at 11:53
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@StoneyB, Yes, that’s what I feel every time when I meet the ‘Fluffy,’ in the audio book. And I don’t pass the time without smiling. And that’s why I asked this question. For I wanted to know if the name has the same effect on natives. Commented Mar 30, 2013 at 13:22
When I hear the word fluffy, it would give me the feeling of something soft, cute, small, and covered with fur, like an adorable kitten.
The word fluffy can mean a different thing when it is used to describe a person.
fluffy
(of a person, esp. a woman) frivolous, silly, or vague: fluffy blondes in leopard-skin pedal pushers.
answered Mar 30, 2013 at 10:45
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2Here is a fluffy blonde in leopard-skin pedal pushers. Commented Mar 30, 2013 at 14:48
