Make Your Point > Archived Issues > PIFFLING
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It's totally hilarious, I think, to call something piffling.
It means the same thing, but sounds totally serious, to call something n_g_t__y: so unimportant or worthless that it should be ignored.
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make your point with...
"PIFFLING"
As you breathe out, make a dismissive sound with your lips like "ppfff." It's a sound that says, "Whatever," or "That's dumb," or "That doesn't matter."
It's the sound people probably had in mind when they started using the casual verb "piffle," around 1847, to mean "to talk in a stupid way, to behave in a stupid way, or to use up in a stupid way." Like this:
"Troy piffled to himself as he rummaged around in the attic."
"Troy piffled around in the attic."
"Troy piffled away his afternoon in the attic."
We can use "piffle" as a noun, too, to mean "stupid talk or stupid nonsense."
And something piffling doesn't matter at all. In other words, piffling things are tiny, petty, trivial, and unimportant.
Pronunciation:
PIFF ling
Part of speech:
Adjective: "a piffling amount," "the effect was piffling."
Other forms:
piffle, piffled, piffler(s)
How to use it:
This word is funny, with an old-fashioned, vaguely British tone.
And because it's so informal and so full of personality, it can be extra funny to plop it into an otherwise formal context. Here's The New Yorker: "Brexiteers often summon the memory of Britain’s wartime resilience to indicate that we have what it takes to survive a piffling showdown with the E.U."
And informal words like "piffling" work well for silly or ironic understatements, too. Here's The Economist: "The properties of Washington, DC, are valued at a piffling $232 billion." And here's The Guardian: "There is even a tiny [black hole]– a piffling four million times as massive as the Sun – at the heart of the Milky Way."
So, enjoy this kooky word as you talk about piffling amounts of time or money, piffling distances, piffling roles and tasks, piffling concerns and details, piffling talk, piffling offenses, piffling objections, etc.
Finally, because "piffle" is also a noun, you can just shout it out as a standalone response to anything stupid, nonsensical, or unimportant.
examples:
"Mr. Bejar is trying to create empathy among Facebook users, in what used to happen in real settings like the playground through social cues like crying and laughter. This may seem like a piffling side project to some. But I believe the success of social media largely depends on solving this problem and teaching users to be kinder..."
— Nick Bilton, The New York Times, 22 October 2014
"The insufferable downy-cheeked technocrats in my employ at the Onion News Net-Work have informed me that, due to some folderol about worm-holes aboard fantastical ships that ply the very oceans of the sky, my news organization can now see the future! ... To which I said piffle—why would any-one in their right mind need to know the future?"
— "T. Herman Zweibel," The Onion, 7 July 2010
has this page helped you understand "piffling"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "piffling" without saying "dinky" or "inconsequential."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) has no time for piffling concerns like (something that's essential)."
Example: "He issues demands but has no time for piffling concerns like how to enforce them."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
This month, we're playing Name Those Synonyms!
We're enjoying the gracefully written, ultra-authoritative explanations in Funk & Wagnalls Standard Handbook of Synonyms, Antonyms, and Prepositions. In each issue, check out the passage from the book, and see if you can figure out which synonyms are being distinguished.
From the previous issue: What two synonyms (<1> and <2>) does the Handbook distinguish below?
"<1> is, etymologically, an interchange of ideas with some other person or persons. <2> may be wholly one-sided. Many brilliant <2>ers have been incapable of <1>. <2> may denote the mere utterance of words with little thought; thus, we say idle <2>, empty <2>, rather than idle or empty <1>."
Answers:
<1> is "conversation."
<2> is "talk."
Try this today: What two synonyms (<1> and <2>) does the Handbook distinguish below? (They are distinguished first from each other, then distinguished from the word "invent.")
"Of human actions or character, <1> may be used in either the good or the bad sense, oftener in the good; <2> is nearly always used in a bad sense; he was <2>ed in a fraud; real merit is sure to be <1>ed. In scientific language, <2> is used of delicate indications that appear in course of careful watching; as, a slight fluttering of the pulse could be <2>ed. We <1> what has existed but has not been known to us; we invent combinations or arrangements not before in use; Columbus <1>ed America; Morse invented the electric telegraph."
Bonus challenge: Recall the fine differences between "awkward" and "clumsy." You can view the answer in this issue.
review this word:
1. One opposite of PIFFLING is
A. FORMAL.
B. SUBSTANTIAL.
C. RESPONSIBLE.
2. Writing for the Washington Post, Ron Reagan referred to astrology as "piffle" and "_____."
A. good clean fun
B. harmless folly at best
C. down-to-earth advice wrapped in starry prose
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
It's totally hilarious, I think, to call something piffling.
"PIFFLING" As you breathe out, make a dismissive sound with your lips like "ppfff." It's a sound that says, "Whatever," or "That's dumb," or "That doesn't matter."
"Mr. Bejar is trying to create empathy among Facebook users, in what used to happen in real settings like the playground through social cues like crying and laughter. This may seem like a piffling side project to some. But I believe the success of social media largely depends on solving this problem and teaching users to be kinder..."
Explain the meaning of "piffling" without saying "dinky" or "inconsequential."
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) has no time for piffling concerns like (something that's essential)."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. One opposite of PIFFLING is
|