2 meanings, 13 uses
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1 —10 uses as in:
a trifling matter
Definition
something of small importance; or a small quantity
- "Vincy, if you insist on quarrelling with me, it will be exceedingly painful to Harriet as well as myself," said Mr. Bulstrode, with a trifle more eagerness and paleness than usual.Book 2 — Old and Young (8% in)
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- This was not the case with Mr. Farebrother: he seemed a trifle milder and more silent, the chief talker being his mother, while he only put in a good-humored moderating remark here and there.Book 2 — Old and Young (45% in)
- He contemplated the large well-proportioned letters and final flourish, with his head a trifle on one side for an instant, then handed it to Fred, said "Good-by," and returned forthwith to his absorption in a plan for Sir James Chettam's new farm-buildings.Book 3 — Waiting for Death (5% in)
- Also, it must be admitted that Mrs. Garth was a trifle too emphatic in her resistance to what she held to be follies: the passage from governess into housewife had wrought itself a little too strongly into her consciousness, and she rarely forgot that while her grammar and accent were above the town standard, she wore a plain cap, cooked the family dinner, and darned all the stockings.Book 3 — Waiting for Death (16% in)
- Lydgate was astounded to find in numberless trifling matters, as well as in this last serious case of the riding, that affection did not make her compliant.Book 6 — The Widow and Wife (49% in)
- "Now, ladies," said Mr. Trumbull, taking up one of the articles, "this tray contains a very recherchy lot—a collection of trifles for the drawing-room table—and trifles make the sum of human things—nothing more important than trifles—(yes, Mr. Ladislaw, yes, by-and-by)—but pass the tray round, Joseph—these bijoux must be examined, ladies.Book 6 — The Widow and Wife (69% in)
- "Now, ladies," said Mr. Trumbull, taking up one of the articles, "this tray contains a very recherchy lot—a collection of trifles for the drawing-room table—and trifles make the sum of human things—nothing more important than trifles—(yes, Mr. Ladislaw, yes, by-and-by)—but pass the tray round, Joseph—these bijoux must be examined, ladies.Book 6 — The Widow and Wife (69% in)
- "Now, ladies," said Mr. Trumbull, taking up one of the articles, "this tray contains a very recherchy lot—a collection of trifles for the drawing-room table—and trifles make the sum of human things—nothing more important than trifles—(yes, Mr. Ladislaw, yes, by-and-by)—but pass the tray round, Joseph—these bijoux must be examined, ladies.Book 6 — The Widow and Wife (69% in)
- Playing at the Green Dragon once or oftener might have been a trifle in another man; but in Lydgate it was one of several signs that he was getting unlike his former self.Book 7 — Two Temptations (80% in)
- It is unkind—it is throwing back my love for you as if it were a trifle, to speak in that way in the face of the fact.Book 8 — Sunset and Sunrise (81% in)
There are no more uses of "trifle" flagged with this meaning in Middlemarch.
Typical Usage
(best examples)
2 —3 uses as in:
trifle with her affections
Definition
to treat somebody or something thoughtlessly or without respect
- "Good gracious! what dreadful trifling with people's constitutions!" said Mrs. Taft.Book 5 — The Dead Hand (24% in)
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- Meanwhile the crowd became denser, and as the political personage neared the end of his speech, Mr. Brooke felt a remarkable change in his sensations while he still handled his eye-glass, trifled with documents before him, and exchanged remarks with his committee, as a man to whom the moment of summons was indifferent.Book 5 — The Dead Hand (72% in)
- Still, the cheers were exhilarating, and no candidate could look more amiable than Mr. Brooke, with the memorandum in his breast-pocket, his left hand on the rail of the balcony, and his right trifling with his eye-glass.Book 5 — The Dead Hand (73% in)
There are no more uses of "trifle with" flagged with this meaning in Middlemarch.
Typical Usage
(best examples)