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piffle

noun
/ˈpɪf.əl/UK

Etymology

Unknown, 1847. Perhaps blend of piddle + trifle, perhaps puff (“(onomatopoeia, puff of air)”) + -le (“diminutive”).

  1. inherited from trifle
  2. compounded as piffle — “piddle + trifle”

Definitions

  1. Nonsense, foolish talk.

    • The wafflier the piffle, the more sharply Mr Nicholson wields his skewer.
    • The move is obviously pure piffle: a dumbshow designed to placate (or at least entertain) the conservative base while distracting and antagonising rivals.

  2. To act or speak in a futile, ineffective, or nonsensical manner.

  3. To waste, to fritter away.

  4. ›+ 1 more definition

    1. To be squeamish or delicate.

The neighborhood

Derived

piffler

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for piffle. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA