piffling


Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms.

pif·fle

 (pĭf′əl)
intr.v. pif·fled, pif·fling, pif·fles
To talk or act feebly or futilely.
n.
Foolish or futile talk or ideas; nonsense.
[Origin unknown.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

piffling

(ˈpɪflɪŋ)
adj
worthless, trivial
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pif•fling

(ˈpɪf lɪŋ)

adj. Informal.
of little worth; trifling.
[1890–95]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.piffling - (informal) small and of little importance; "a fiddling sum of money"; "a footling gesture"; "our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war"; "a little (or small) matter"; "a dispute over niggling details"; "limited to petty enterprises"; "piffling efforts"; "giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction"
fiddling, footling, niggling, picayune, piddling, trivial, petty, lilliputian, little
colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech
unimportant - not important; "a relatively unimportant feature of the system"; "the question seems unimportant"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

piffling

adjective (Informal) trivial, petty, trifling, insignificant, little, pants (informal), useless, fiddling, worthless, unimportant, paltry, Mickey Mouse (slang), puny, derisory, measly (informal), piddling (informal), crappy (slang), toytown (slang), poxy (slang), nickel-and-dime (U.S. slang), wanky (taboo slang), chickenshit (U.S. slang) some piffling dispute regarding visiting rights
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations

piffling

[ˈpɪflɪŋ] ADJ [dispute, task] → de poca monta, insignificante; [excuse] → absurdo, ridículo; [sum, amount] → ridículo, irrisorio
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

piffling

[ˈpɪflɪŋ] adj → insignifiant(e)
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

piffling

adj (inf) → lächerlich
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

piffling

[ˈpɪflɪŋ] (fam) adj → insignificante
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
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References in periodicals archive ?
The market there is huge and its customers don't give a hoot about a piffling bit of cheating in America.
VW SUV GETS A BIT TOU BIG; ON THE RAOD
Finally, he's gone one better than Fergie, ignoring the piffling detail of the actual results.
IT WOULDN'T be New Year's [...]
They have millions of British customers but the billion-pound US firms' HMRC tax bills have been branded "piffling".
Tech giants pay 'piffling' PS1.9m in tax; MSP BLASTS FIRMS OVER HMRC BILLS
That the council of the largest local authority in the UK can so meekly surrender to the attacks made upon the city and its people by a government elected on a piffling majority, determined to wreck the welfare state and bringing misery and hardship to millions of working people, is a betrayal of the trust placed in them by their electorate.
Sickened by more council job losses; Letters
Why then are we piffling about with low-energy light bulbs, whose effect is absolutely microscopic by comparison?
Don't travel by air - stop the pollution; Letters letters@coventrytelegraph.net
When a member of the public described the amount to be saved as "piffling", Mr Day said: "On one hand, pounds 10,000 seems a piffling sum.
Axing bus will save a 'piffling' amount; Locals' anger at losing their 'lifeline' route
I FOUND Rob Davies'' reference to the March 3 referendum on lawmaking powers for the Welsh Assembly as a piffling little plebiscite to be extremely offensive (Daily Post Feb 1, 2011, p9: Put cross in box marked apathy).
This vote is not on 'piffling' matter; LETTERS
"What a piddling, piffling pack of political pygmies the Tories are" - Labour MP Paul Flynn on the decision to close the M4 bus lane and the ban on taxpayer-funded Christmas trees for Downing Street.
They say
Perhaps I'm turning into a woman" Actor Dustin Hoffman, below "What a piddling, piffling pack of political pygmies the Tories are" Labour MP Paul Flynn on the decision to close the M4 bus lane and the ban on taxpayer-funded Christmas trees for Downing Street "I'm a happy hermit now" Singer Robbie Williams, who does his socialising at home "If you can't critique art then what can you do?" Evening Standard art critic Brian Sewell after photographers boycotted the Turner Prize exhibition at Tate Britain when organisers demanded only good publicity "Southend is a place where people get drunk, throw up, have a fight and a one-night stand" Actress Dame Helen Mirren, above, on the town where she was brought up
THEY SAID WHAT?
So forget the piffling few million squandered in overpayments.
Pension debt bill is a nightmare

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