piffle

[ pif-uhl ]

noun

1. nonsense, as trivial or senseless talk.

verb (used without object)

, pif·fled, pif·fling.

1. to talk nonsense.

piffle

/ ˈpɪfəl /

noun

1. nonsense

   to talk piffle

verb

1. intr to talk or behave feebly

Word History and Origins

Origin of piffle¹

First recorded in 1840–50; perhaps akin to puff

Word History and Origins

Origin of piffle¹

C19: origin uncertain

Example Sentences

They may sound like piffle, and perhaps they are, but they were formative.

From Los Angeles Times

For more than two hours, it pelts you with piffle so egregious — not just puns but also dad jokes, double entendres and booby-trapped one-liners — that, forced into submission, you eventually give in.

From New York Times

Using typical Johnsonian language, he initially dismissed the claims as an “inverted pyramid of piffle” before other evidence emerged.

From Washington Post

He was also sacked from a post in the Conservative Party after he lied about having an affair, calling the allegations “an inverted pyramid of piffle.”

From Washington Post

Past administration GPRs, he added, “typically gush strategic-sounding piffle, exhausting readers with laborious defenses of the status quo. This one at least spared us that.”

From Washington Times