What does “tüfteln” mean in German?

Ranting about old two-tap sinks, the speaker complains that mixing hot and cold takes forever: «muss ich immer wie 'n Chemiker so rumtüfteln» (“I always have to tinker around like a chemist”). Rumtüfteln (from tüfteln) means “to fiddle, tinker, or puzzle over” something finicky, working away at a tricky little problem until you get it right.

A Tüftler is an inventor or tinkerer, the lovingly stubborn type who takes the toaster apart to improve it, a flattering label in engineering-proud Germany. The rum- prefix adds the sense of fiddling “around,” often with mild frustration. Perfect for anyone hunched over a stubborn gadget.