All 3 Uses of
trifle
in
A Christmas Carol
- No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge.
Chpt 1 (definition 1) *trifle = small amount
- ...people who were not to be trifled with;
Chpt 2 (definition 2) *trifled with = treated thoughtlessly
- But there they were, in the heart of it; on 'Change, amongst the merchants; who hurried up and down, and chinked the money in their pockets, and conversed in groups, and looked at their watches, and trifled thoughtfully with their great gold seals; and so forth, as Scrooge had seen them often.†
Chpt 4 (definition 1)
Definitions:
-
(1) (trifle as in: a trifling matter) something of small importance; or a small quantity
-
(2) (trifle with as in: trifle with her affections) to treat somebody or something thoughtlessly or without respect