To fuddle is to confuse somebody, especially with drink. Fuddled with wine, fuddle the brain, a fuddled look.
It survives mostly in befuddle and in fuddled, and the drink is often implied even when not stated. Fuddy-duddy is probably unrelated despite the resemblance. The word is old and its origin is uncertain.
1verbfuddleTo confuse somebody, especially with drink.
“Three glasses of strong wine had fuddled his brain, and he couldn't find his keys.”
fuddle is a confusing.
Of uncertain origin, possibly related to a German dialect word meaning to swindle.
Compare Dutch vod (“soft”), German dialect fuddeln (“to swindle”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA