whiffle

Founding-era definition · Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

WHIFFLE, verb intransitive [G., to doubt, to rove or wander, which seems to be allied to sweep.] To start, shift and turn; to change from one opinion or course to another; to use evasions; to prevaricate; to be fickle and unsteady. A person of a whiffing and unsteady turn of mind, cannot keep close to a point of controversy. WHIFFLE, verb transitive To disperse with a puff; to scatter. WHIFFLE, noun Anciently, a fife or small flute.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI

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