All 17 Uses
trifle
in
The Deerslayer
(Auto-generated)
- On the other hand, Hurry Harry, either from constitutional recklessness, or from a secret consciousness how little his appearance required artificial aids, wore everything in a careless, slovenly manner, as if he felt a noble scorn for the trifling accessories of dress and ornaments.†
Chpt 1
- You are not a beauty, as you must know, and why shouldn't fri'nds tell each other these little trifles?†
Chpt 3 *trifles = things of small importance
- This would have been an exploit of no great difficulty, the inclination of the tree admitting of an easy passage, the adjoining branches offering ample support for the hands, and the fall being too trifling to be apprehended.†
Chpt 4
- But neither Hutter nor Hurry was a man likely to stick at trifles in matters connected with the right of the aborigines, since it is one of the consequences of aggression that it hardens the conscience, as the only means of quieting it.†
Chpt 5trifles = things of small importance
- It's no trifling matter to fall into red-skin hands, when men set out on an ar'n'd like that which took Hutter and Hurry ashore; that I know as well as another, and I wouldn't wish my worst inimy in such a strait, much less them with whom I've journeyed, and eat, and slept.†
Chpt 12
- At length the savage pretended that further negotiation was useless, since he could not be so unjust to his tribe as to part with the honor and emoluments of two excellent, full grown male scalps for a consideration so trifling as a toy like that he had seen, and he prepared to take his departure.†
Chpt 14
- As trifling departures from habitual deportment oftener strike the imagination than more important changes, Hetty perceived the circumstances, and wondered at them in her own simple way.†
Chpt 18
- Hetty's instinct of right, if such a term can be applied to one who seemed taught by some kind spirit how to steer her course with unerring accuracy, between good and evil, would have revolted at Hurry's character on a thousand points, had there been opportunities to enlighten her, but while he conversed and trifled with her sister, at a distance from herself, his perfection of form and feature had been left to produce their influence on her simple imagination and naturally tender feelings, without suffering by the alloy of his opinions and coarseness.†
Chpt 23 *trifled with = treated thoughtlessly or without respect
- What reason can there be, if Hetty and I are willing to part with the trifles for your sake, and the savages are willing to receive them?†
Chpt 24trifles = things of small importance
- But where's the sense in trifling about such a thing?†
Chpt 24
- Then as to the face, an honest look, one that answers for the heart within, is of more value than any shape or colour, or eyes, or teeth, or trifles like them.†
Chpt 24trifles = things of small importance
- When the affections are concerned, all things appear in their pleasantest colors, and trifles are overlooked, or are forgotten.†
Chpt 24
- Any trifling variance in the aim of this formidable weapon would prove fatal; since, the head being the target, or rather the point it was desired to graze without injuring, an inch or two of difference in the line of projection must at once determine the question of life or death.†
Chpt 29
- "Why do you torment Deerslayer, redmen?" she asked "What has he done that you trifle with his life; who has given you the right to be his judges?†
Chpt 29trifle with = treat thoughtlessly or without respect
- There's the piece he calls Killdeer, might count for something, and I understand there's a keg of powder about, which might be a make-weight, sartain; and yet two able bodied men are not to be bought off for a trifle—besides—†
Chpt 12
- This is no place to trifle or deceive in.†
Chpt 21
- Judith, a'ter all, isn't worth as much as you, though she may be a trifle better looking.†
Chpt 23
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) A trifle can refer to a kind of dessert. In classic literature, trifling can be a synonym for small talk.