diff --git a/beetsplug/fuzzy.py b/beetsplug/fuzzy.py
index 959544ed3..56bce8b2c 100644
--- a/beetsplug/fuzzy.py
+++ b/beetsplug/fuzzy.py
@@ -22,18 +22,34 @@ from beets.plugins import BeetsPlugin
 
 
 class FuzzyQuery(StringFieldQuery[str]):
+    def __init__(self, field_name: str, pattern: str, *_) -> None:
+        # Fuzzy matching is only available via `string_match`.
+        super().__init__(field_name, pattern, fast=False)
+
     @classmethod
-    def string_match(cls, pattern: str, val: str):
+    def string_match(cls, pattern: str, val: str) -> bool:
         # smartcase
         if pattern.islower():
             val = val.lower()
         query_matcher = difflib.SequenceMatcher(None, pattern, val)
         threshold = config["fuzzy"]["threshold"].as_number()
-        return query_matcher.quick_ratio() >= threshold
+        # Adjust match threshold for the case that the pattern is shorter
+        # than the value being matched. This allows the pattern to match
+        # substrings of the value, not just the entire value.
+        if len(pattern) < len(val):
+            max_possible_ratio = 2 * len(pattern) / (len(pattern) + len(val))
+            threshold *= max_possible_ratio
+
+        # If upper bound of the ratio meets threshold, then calculate
+        # the actual ratio.
+        if query_matcher.quick_ratio() >= threshold:
+            return query_matcher.ratio() >= threshold
+
+        return False
 
 
 class FuzzyPlugin(BeetsPlugin):
-    def __init__(self):
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
         super().__init__()
         self.config.add(
             {
diff --git a/docs/changelog.rst b/docs/changelog.rst
index 80ed763bf..6a0fa5d7d 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/changelog.rst
@@ -47,6 +47,12 @@ Bug fixes
 - In autotagging, initialise empty multi-valued fields with ``None`` instead of
   empty list, which caused beets to overwrite existing metadata with empty list
   values instead of leaving them unchanged. :bug:`6403`
+- :doc:`plugins/fuzzy`: Improve fuzzy matching when the query is shorter than
+  the field value so substring-style searches produce more useful results.
+  :bug:`2043`
+- :doc:`plugins/fuzzy`: Force slow query evaluation whenever the fuzzy prefix is
+  used (for example ``~foo`` or ``%%foo``), so fuzzy matching is applied
+  consistently. :bug:`5638`
 
 For plugin developers
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
diff --git a/test/plugins/test_fuzzy.py b/test/plugins/test_fuzzy.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..be55b76ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/plugins/test_fuzzy.py
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+# This file is part of beets.
+#
+# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining
+# a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the
+# "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including
+# without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish,
+# distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to
+# permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to
+# the following conditions:
+#
+# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
+# included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+"""Tests for the fuzzy query plugin."""
+
+import pytest
+
+from beets.test.helper import PluginMixin, TestHelper
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def helper(request):
+    helper = TestHelper()
+    helper.setup_beets()
+
+    request.instance.lib = helper.lib
+    request.instance.add_item = helper.add_item
+
+    yield
+
+    helper.teardown_beets()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.usefixtures("helper")
+class TestFuzzyPlugin(PluginMixin):
+    plugin = "fuzzy"
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize(
+        "query,expected_titles",
+        [
+            pytest.param("~foo", ["seafood"], id="all-fields-substring"),
+            pytest.param("title:~foo", ["seafood"], id="field-substring"),
+            pytest.param("~seafood", ["seafood"], id="all-fields-equal-length"),
+            pytest.param("~zzz", [], id="all-fields-no-match"),
+        ],
+    )
+    def test_fuzzy_queries(self, query, expected_titles):
+        self.add_item(title="seafood", artist="alpha")
+        self.add_item(title="bread", artist="beta")
+
+        with self.configure_plugin({}):
+            items = self.lib.items(query)
+
+        assert [item.title for item in items] == expected_titles