this mystery was resolved, between the interlocutor and myself:

the worthless word for the day is: jamfle

[Sc. jamphle < jamph, travel with difficulty]
to shuffle in walking, as if in consequence of
wearing too wide shoes {Jamieson}

"And in the morning I jamfled over to the YIVO
Institute for Jewish Research and their archives..."
- Glen Berger, Underneath the Lintel (2001)

(thanx to John Huston)

-tsuwm