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bumf

noun

  1. written or printed material that is perceived as useless, tedious, or unnecessary
L1410982 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /bʌmf/

noun

Etymology: Clipping of bumfodder.

  1. Useless papers; now especially official documents, standardized forms, sales and marketing print material, etc.

    And as for the limited warnings on documents and signs – we are so used to reading this bumf we fail to realise when they mean business.

    In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result. If the bumf arrived electronically, the take-up rate was 0.1%. And for online adverts the “conversion” into sales was a minuscule 0.01%.

  2. Toilet paper.