Both Uses of
frivolous
in
Selected Tales, by Poe
- I am not now writing a treatise, but simply prefacing a somewhat peculiar narrative by observations very much at random; I will, therefore, take occasion to assert that the higher powers of the reflective intellect are more decidedly and more usefully tasked by the unostentatious game of draughts than by a the elaborate frivolity of chess.†
Scene 4frivolity = lack of seriousness
- Whist has long been noted for its influence upon what is termed the calculating power; and men of the highest order of intellect have been known to take an apparently unaccountable delight in it, while eschewing chess as frivolous.†
Scene 4 *frivolous = not serious
Definition:
not serious
- in behavior or attitude -- as when acting silly or without appropriate seriousness
- in content -- as when describing something as trivial or unimportant