All 8 Uses of
trifle
in
Wuthering Heights
- He had retired to private prayer in his chamber, and Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw were engaging Missy's attention by sundry gay trifles bought for her to present to the little Lintons, as an acknowledgment of their kindness.†
p. 38.2trifles = things of small importance
- You have been compelled to cultivate your reflective faculties for want of occasions for frittering your life away in silly trifles.'†
p. 44.3
- 'I do,' she answered, 'but he needn't resort to whining for trifles.†
p. 71.4
- The twelve years, continued Mrs. Dean, following that dismal period were the happiest of my life: my greatest troubles in their passage rose from our little lady's trifling illnesses, which she had to experience in common with all children, rich and poor.†
p. 137.2
- I desire an explanation: playing and trifling are completely banished out of my mind; and I can't dance attendance on your affectations now!'†
p. 193.4
- 'What a trifle scares you!†
p. 60.4 *
- A stout, hearty lass like Catherine does not fall ill for a trifle; and that sort of people should not either.†
p. 94.7
- She also got a trick of coming down early in the morning and lingering about the kitchen, as if she were expecting the arrival of something; and she had a small drawer in a cabinet in the library, which she would trifle over for hours, and whose key she took special care to remove when she left it.†
p. 163.9
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
-
(3)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Less commonly, a trifle can refer to a kind of dessert. In classic literature, trifling can be a synonym for small talk.