piffling
Adjective (informal): 1. Trivial, insignificant, or of very little value or importance: Describes something so small, unimportant, or silly that it is not worth serious consideration. 2. Foolish or nonsensical: Can describe talk, ideas, or actions that are silly or lack sense.
The word "piffling" is used informally, often to dismiss something as not worth attention or to express contempt for its insignificance. It is typically used attributively (before a noun) or predictively (after a linking verb like 'is').
- Attributive use (before a noun):
- He wasted the entire meeting on piffling details.
- Don't worry about such piffling amounts; it's not significant.
- Predictive use (after a linking verb):
- Their objections were utterly piffling and were ignored.
- The difference in price is piffling, so just choose the one you like.
- "to piffle" (verb, rare): To talk or act in a trivial or foolish way. This is the verb form from which "piffling" is derived.
- He just piffled on about the weather instead of addressing the real issue.
- Piffle (noun): Nonsense or trivial talk.
- That's a load of piffle! Don't believe a word of it.
- Piffler (noun, rare): A person who talks piffle.
- Trivial
- Petty
- Negligible
- Inconsequential
- Footling (informal)
- Picayune (chiefly US)
- Important
- Significant
- Substantial
- Crucial
While "piffling" itself is not commonly part of idioms, it is used in dismissive phrases: - "a piffling excuse": A very weak or trivial excuse. - He gave some piffling excuse for being late. - "piffling nonsense": Complete and trivial foolishness. - The report was dismissed as piffling nonsense.
- (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