Both Uses of
trifle
in
All's Well That Ends Well, by Shakespeare
- Hence is it that we make trifles of terrors, ensconcing ourselves into seeming knowledge when we should submit ourselves to an unknown fear.†
Scene 2.3 *trifles = things of small importance
- But a trifle neither, in good faith, if the learned should speak truth of it: here it is, and all that belongs to't.†
Scene 2.2
Definitions:
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(1)
(trifle as in: a trifling matter) something of small importance; or a small quantity
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(2)
(trifle with as in: trifle with her affections) to treat somebody or something thoughtlessly or without respect
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(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.